Labour Provenance as a Lens to Reveal More-Than-Human Ecologies in Biological Design and HCIEfforts to integrate living organisms in the design of new technologies are often motivated by prospects of greater sustainability and increased connection with more-than-human worlds. In this paper, we critically discuss these motivations by analysing the vast and mostly hidden ecologies of more-than-human organisms implicated in a biodesign lab experiment. Through the lenses of labour theory, we investigate the extent to which organisms’ bodily functions and relationships can be subsumed into capitalist modes of production. In order to help reveal and map out the network of more-than-human contributors to biodesign, we develop a workshop method and a labour provenance analytical framework that identifies five types of more-than-human labourers, stretching from the centre to the periphery of biodesign. We conclude by discussing how sustainable approaches should account for wider more-than-human ecologies, and how the labour lens could help stress conflicting goals, implicit anthropocentric agendas and ways of improving organismal welfare in biological design and HCI.2025YCYuning Chen et al.University of Edinburgh, Design InformaticsSustainable HCIHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)CHI
Creating Resources for Designing With and For Care Ecologies in HCIAmidst a growing body of work in HCI focusing on designing systems that engage with care relationships, there is increasing interest in expanding notions of care beyond transactional practices, towards broader notions of “care ecologies”. However, how can we support care systems designers to apply these concepts in practice? This paper presents the Care Spectrums, a set of sensitising concepts for designers to explore and apply to their practice. Developed as a response to a design probe exercise (the CareTree) which was carried out with 14 participants over one month, the Care Spectrums respond to the multiplicity of expressions of care in participants’ everyday lives. Translated into a design resource (the ‘Co-Designing with Care’ card deck), and trialled with 10 designers, the Care Spectrums revealed hidden caring and uncaring practices in designers’ projects, and stimulated opportunities for designing with and for people’s complex and entangled care ecologies.2024CWCara Wilson et al.Empowerment of Marginalized GroupsParticipatory DesignPrototyping & User TestingDIS
Cosmovision Of Data: An Indigenous Approach to Technologies for Self-DeterminationThis paper analyses practices of data perception and usage, as well as ongoing and envisioned community technology projects carried out by a Masewal Indigenous group in Mexico through their union of cooperatives, Tosepan. Through fieldwork interviews, Masewal participants expressed how they have been appropriating existing technologies for their people’s self-determination. During a workshop, they imagined how diverse knowledges and lived experiences of their worldview, passed down through generations, could be represented and translated into digital practices more broadly. We draw considerations for the HCI community to embrace novel approaches to data and information systems from the community’s concept of Cosmovision, and develop Micro-, Meso- and Macro- lenses within it. Through these lenses, we discuss how technologies could be designed for specific individual practices and connections with nature (Micro-cosmos) while supporting communal actions for autonomy and self-determination (Meso-cosmos), and considering broader worldmaking processes and implications for identity, prosperity, ecology and plural representations (Macro-cosmos).2024CMCarlos Guerrero Millan et al.University of EdinburghCommunity Engagement & Civic TechnologyDeveloping Countries & HCI for Development (HCI4D)Human-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)CHI
Microbial Revolt: Redefining biolab tools and practices for more-than-human care ecologies Recent work in HCI has called for deeper ethical considerations when engaging with more-than-human organisms in design. In this paper, we introduce Microbial Revolt, a provocative method to support reflection on the perspectives of organisms involved in HCI and design practice. By asking participants to consider the reality of a chosen organism in feral and lab environments and to redesign lab tools in order to account for their “non-participation”, we identified the manifestation of key epistemic differences between approaches to care and ecologies in typical design and biology research - as well as the potential for design and HCI to creatively redefine power dynamics in the lab. Further interviews revealed specific challenges and opportunities that designers and HCI researchers face in adapting practices to lab standards, and lab equipment to their practices, calling for a redefinition of tools, spaces and guidance to accommodate phenomenological perspectives and multiple modes of interaction with living organisms.2024YCYuning Chen et al.University of EdinburghTechnology Ethics & Critical HCIHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)CHI
Design Patterns for Data-Driven News ArticlesTechnological advancements have resulted in great shifts in the production and consumption of news articles. This, in turn, lead to the requirement of new educational and practical frameworks. In this paper, we present a classification of data-driven news articles and related design patterns defined to describe their visual and textual components. Through the analysis of 162 data-driven news articles collected from news media, we identified five types of articles based on the level of data involvement and narrative complexity: Quick Update, Briefing, Chart Description, Investigation, and In-depth Investigation. We then identified 72 design patterns to understand and construct data-driven news articles. To evaluate this approach, we conducted workshops with 23 students from journalism, design, and sociology who were newly introduced to the subject. Our findings suggest that our approach can be used as an out-of-box framework for the formulation of plans and consideration of details in the workflow of data-driven news creation.2024SHShan Hao et al.Shanghai Academy of Fine ArtsVisual Impairment Technologies (Screen Readers, Tactile Graphics, Braille)Data StorytellingCHI
Sensing Care Through Design - A Speculative Role-play Approach to “Living With” Sensor-Supported Care NetworksSensor networks are increasingly commonplace in visions of smart cities and future healthcare systems, promising greater efficiency and increased wellbeing. However, the design of these technologies remains focused on specific users and fragmented by context, overlooking the diversity of needs, wants and values present when technologies, people, and lived realities interact within instrumented spaces. In this paper we present a workshop method – Sensing Care – that can help researchers, interdisciplinary design and development teams, and potentially affected users, to explore what it takes to design for living with sensor technologies that intersect and interact across private and public spaces, through speculative scenarios and role play. Drawing from three deployments of the workshop, we discuss how this approach supports the design of future care-oriented sensor networks, and helps designers understand what it means to live with complex technologies as people traverse diverse contexts.2023SRSonja Rattay et al.Participatory DesignField StudiesSustainable HCIDIS
Navigating Imaginaries of DNA-Based Digital Data StorageDNA-based digital data storage technology is hailed as a potential solution for the issues around exponential global data production. However, while the technology continues to strive towards its full commercialization, there is a lack of discourse on how it could be applied to facilitate interactions that are meaningful, ethical, and socially sustainable. As an approach to address this gap, we hosted a series of online workshops, soliciting 15 participants to engage in grounded speculations on plausible futures of DNA data storage. Themes drawn from the resulting imaginaries and discussions were situated within a selection of existing HCI literature, to generate an initial set of design opportunities and challenges for DNA data storage. Early analysis suggests that the system could be designed to 1) facilitate meaningful interactions that are intangible and molecular, and 2) foster better human relationship with more-than-human entities. Furthermore, we highlight the imperative for cross-disciplinary collaborations and pedagogy, to ensure fair and high quality access to the technology.2022RKRaphael Kim et al.Queen Mary University of LondonContext-Aware ComputingTechnology Ethics & Critical HCIDeveloping Countries & HCI for Development (HCI4D)CHI
Exploring uncertainty in digital scheduling, and the wider implications of unrepresented temporalities in HCIDigital calendars and other technologies for social event planning leave little space to communicate uncertainty regarding time, place or the ability to attend an event. However, narratives of certainty can be detrimental and lead to the marginalisation of those who find it hard to cope with rigid and strictly paced schedules, such as people with health conditions or caring responsibilities. In this paper, we explore uncertainty as the starting point and leading principle behind digital scheduling tools. We present Haze, a speculative tool and user interface, designed to gain insights on participants’ perceptions of uncertainty-based scheduling scenarios. We report on two qualitative studies (total of 21 participants), which indicate that a change in perspective towards uncertainty can challenge moral assumptions around certainty, increase temporal empathy, and in-deed support those who are particularly affected by uncertainty. These findings help shift and expand the repertoire of temporality and discuss moral and social responsibilities for design and HCI.2022RBRyan David Bowler et al.The University of Edinburgh , The University of EdinburghUncertainty VisualizationPrivacy by Design & User ControlPrivacy Perception & Decision-MakingCHI
Problematising Transparency Through LARP And DeliberationInformation technology is increasingly designed to increase information transparency as a way to increase trust. However, it can be hard to comprehend and anticipate the social implications of information visibility, people’s competing expectations of transparency versus privacy, and the role of enabling technologies. We devised Live Action Role Play (LARP) as a means for people to explore the potential and consequences of transparency within a social context of daily transactions related to food, fashion, and finance. Through the process of deliberation, we enabled participants to critically assess their co-created LARP experience and articulate their transparency expectations for design considerations. We report on insights into their expectations and perceived limitations of information technology in delivering transparency, including social measures required to realise the full potential of technology, as well as transparency, while minimising unintended consequences.2021KPKruakae Pothong et al.Technology Ethics & Critical HCIDesign FictionDIS
Push-Pull Energy Futures: Using Design to Discuss Agency in Distributed Energy SystemsDistributed energy resources are expected to radically change the way energy is produced and distributed through decentralised generation and storage. Current distributed energy models tend to hide the complexity of these systems in order to improve ease of use, while restricting people’s participation to predefined roles of passive users who can benefit from more reliable infrastructures, more competitive prices, and more access to sustainable energy. In this paper, we question these roles and present the Karma Kettle, an open-ended device that aims to explore perceptions of different levels of agency in distributed energy resources. A study of the Karma Kettle with 20 residents of a block of flats in the UK reveals strategies and values of these residents, the effectiveness of the Karma Kettle to inspire discussion on levels of agency, and how these systems could be designed to promote more participatory approaches in distributed energy systems.2020LPLarissa Pschetz et al.Sustainable HCIEnergy Conservation Behavior & InterfacesDIS
Designing Distributed Ledger Technologies for Social Change: The Case of CariCropDistributed ledger technologies (DLTs) have been celebrated for promoting transparency, trust, and efficiency in several domains. However, recent research has also pointed out the potential of these technologies to increase power asymmetries and deepen social inequality. In this paper, we contribute to this discussion by reporting on a collective effort of academics, development partners, local authorities, businesses, and farming groups to look at the potential of DLTs, particularly Blockchains, to support socio-economic development in rural communities in the Caribbean. We present a series of design concepts resulting from this effort and reflect on a method to facilitate stakeholders' experience of possible implementations and enable them to voice concerns, preferences, and expectations. Results from workshops with different groups of stakeholders contribute insights into opportunities and limitations of these applications to enable social development and to level the playing field in agricultural exchanges in developing countries.2020LPLarissa Pschetz et al.University of EdinburghSmart Cities & Urban SensingAlgorithmic Fairness & BiasCHI
Autonomous Distributed Energy Systems: Problematising the Invisible through Design, Drama and DeliberationTechnologies such as blockchains, smart contracts and programmable batteries facilitate emerging models of energy distribution, trade and consumption, and generate a considerable number of opportunities for energy markets. However, these developments complicate relationships between stakeholders, disrupting traditional notions of value, control and ownership. Discussing these issues with the public is particularly challenging as energy consumption habits often obscure the competing values and interests that shape stakeholders' relationships. To make such difficult discussions more approachable and examine the missing relational aspect of autonomous energy systems, we combined the design of speculative hairdryers with performance and deliberation. This integrated method of inquiry makes visible the competing values and interests, eliciting people's wishes to negotiate these terms. We argue that the complexity of mediated energy distribution and its convoluted stakeholder relationships requires more sophisticated methods of inquiry to engage people in debates concerning distributed energy systems.2019LPLarissa Pschetz et al.University of EdinburghSustainable HCIEnergy Conservation Behavior & InterfacesCHI
Exploring Machine Autonomy and Provenance Data in Coffee Consumption: A Field Study of BitbaristaTechnologies such as distributed ledgers and smart contracts are enabling the emergence of new autonomous systems, and providing enhanced systems to track the provenance of goods. A growing body of work in HCI is exploring the novel challenges of these systems, but there has been little attention paid to their impact on everyday activities. This paper presents a study carried out in 3 office environments for a 1-month period, which explored the impact of an autonomous coffee machine on the everyday activity of coffee consumption. The Bitbarista mediates coffee consumption through autonomous processes, presenting provenance data at the time of purchase while attempting to reduce intermediaries in the coffee trade. Through the report of interactions with and around the Bitbarista, we explore its implications for everyday life, and wider social structures and values. We conclude by offering recommendations for the design of community shared autonomous systems.2018ETElla Tallyn et al.Transactions and CurrenciesCSCW
GeoCoin: Supporting Ideation and Collaborative Design with Smart ContractsDesign and HCI researchers are increasingly working with complex digital infrastructures, such as cryptocurrencies, distributed ledgers and smart contracts. These technologies will have a profound impact on digital systems and their audiences. However, given their emergent nature and technical complexity, involving non-specialists in the design of applications that employ these technologies is challenging. In this paper, we discuss these challenges and present GeoCoin, a location-based platform for embodied learning and speculative ideating with smart contracts. In collaborative workshops with GeoCoin, participants engaged with location-based smart contracts, using the platform to explore digital `debit' and `credit' zones in the city. These exercises led to the design of diverse distributed-ledger applications, for time-limited financial unions, participatory budgeting, and humanitarian aid. These results contribute to the HCI community by demonstrating how an experiential prototype can support understanding of the complexities behind new digital infrastructures and facilitate participant engagement in ideation and design processes.2018BNBettina Nissen et al.University of EdinburghCitizen Science & Crowdsourced DataParticipatory DesignCHI