“Standing Out While Blending In:” Learning from Experts about Designing Fashionable Wearable ExperiencesThis study examines fashionability in computational fashion wearables (CFWs) through the reflective accounts of ten academic researcher–designers. While wearables are often studied for technical functions, fashionability, a key to adoption and sustained use, has received less attention. Using semi-structured interviews, we captured designers’ reflections-on-action as they revisited their own prototypes and surfaced forms of tacit, practice-based knowledge that are difficult to access through conventional user studies. Reflexive thematic analysis generated five themes: Desirable Friction, Contextual and Sub-Cultural Relevance, Symbiotic Sensory Envelopes, Narrative Social Performance, and Adaptive Longevity and Circularity. These themes reposition CFWs not as seamless devices but as expressive, situated, and evolving interfaces that mediate sensory, social, and cultural experience. Our findings contribute to fashion theory and HCI by showing how designers mobilize friction, context, sensory depth, and temporality as design resources. We conclude with actionable directions for embodied prototyping, multisensory calibration, narrative staging, and modular longevity.2026SJShiva Jabari et al.Tampere UniversityHaptic WearablesShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsContext-Aware ComputingCHI
Human-Nature Relationships through Video Games: An Exploration of Players’ Sense-MakingTechnology profoundly mediates how people feel, think and engage with nature. Here, video games are projected to become one of the most important mediums to facilitate digital human-nature interaction. In this paper, we explore how 16 players make sense of nature-in-games. Drawing from their own lived experiences, we 1) interviewed them, and 2) invited them to show us games that exemplify their conceptualisation of nature-in-games. We thematically analyse these "show-and-tell" conversations to construct three inductive themes: We arrive at an understanding that nature-in-games experiences are pluralistic, contested happenings. Participants positioned digital nature 1) as a relational other to respect, 2) as a space to reflect on humankind's current practices towards nature and 3) as a tool to escape from the lack of nature in their everyday lives. Based on our insights, we sketch out design inspirations for people wishing to augment, challenge and expand nature-in-games.2025VSVelvet Spors et al.Tampere University, Gamification GroupGame UX & Player BehaviorRole-Playing & Narrative GamesHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)CHI
Seeding a Repository of Methods-To-Be for Nature-Entangled Design ResearchWe share an emergent repository of nature-entangled methods-to-be shared, experimented with, and discussed during a conference workshop. We present them in-use, as they are in formation. We do not seek to theorise or even fully articulate these methods-to-be. Rather, to make them approachable and actionable for others by showing them not fully polished. By doing this, we advocate for increased transparency in the difficulties of creating new methods, techniques, tools, and approaches. Our contribution is threefold: we provide 1) an annotated portfolio of methods-to-be; 2) illustrative examples of how cross-pollination of these methods can enrich their situated use; and 3) a discussion of ways to further articulate the methods and deepen reflection on their roles in nature-entangled design processes.2024OTOscar Tomico et al.Participatory DesignHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)DIS
Ecological In/Congruence: Becoming Sensitised to Nature in Video Games through Humanistic First-Person ResearchThe ongoing ecological crisis is the current biggest threat for our species. As we attempt to address the situation through policy, interventions, and education, we urgently need to understand how people encounter and relate to nature: As it is, in the world, and portrayed through different media. As an exemplary medium facilitating digital nature, this paper focuses on video games. Using first-person research methods, we report on the first author sensitising themselves to nature as a ubiquitous feature, theme, and actor in video games. They played eight nature-focused games for three months. Through auto-ethnography, close reading and "noticing'' (after Tsing), we make sense of their experiences using the humanistic concept of ecological (in)congruence: We draw out the relational gap and potential meanings between real nature and its virtual equivalent. Based on these insights, we outline two design impulses for how the HCI community might approach nature—within games and beyond.2024VSVelvet Spors et al.Tampere UniversityGame UX & Player BehaviorSustainable HCIHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)CHI
Playful Inspiration for a New Wave of Joyful Forest TechnologyHere we present an exploration into the playful potential of forests and how interactive tech might respond to it. Through first-person, speculative, and situated generative design methods, we engaged with a range of forestry activities to explore their capacity to afford experiences based on joy and care. An analysis of our 16 trips to the forest (and the reflections they motivated) revealed 13 play potentials [6] of human-forest interactions: 13 aspects of forestry experiences that can be intrinsically joyful. We present them clustered as 5 overarching directions that can guide the design of technology that pays more attention to nature’s inherent playful character. Our work can inspire a new wave of forest technology that transcends techno-solutionism and privileges alternative values of joy and care.2023FBFerran Altarriba Bertran et al.Technology Ethics & Critical HCISustainable HCIHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)DIS
Designing and Using the Wild Probes Toolkit (v1) to Co-Design From-the-WildRecent research calls for new design methods and tools that respond to the idiosyncrasies of emergent design spaces. Here we address one of them: the design of nature-related technology. To facilitate increasingly situated practices in this space, we created the Wild Probes: a set of probing tools for displacing co-design into the wilderness. Our toolkit enables forestry future-making by helping forest goers to pay attention to, reflect on, ideate around, and document their forestry experiences. Here we present the design and early use of the toolkit. We hope other designers will find it useful and extend it with new Wild Probes of their own.2023FBFerran Altarriba Bertran et al.Participatory DesignHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)DIS
Virtual and Augmented Reality for Environmental Sustainability: A Systematic ReviewIn recent years, extended reality (XR) technology has seen a rise in use in environmental subjects, i.e., climate change or biodiversity loss, as a potential tool to inform and engage the public with current and future environmental issues. However, research on the potential of XR technology for environmental sustainability is still in the early stages, and there is no clear synthesis of the methods studied in this field. To provide a clearer view of existing approaches and research objectives, we systematically reviewed current literature dealing with XR use in environmental topics. Although the results indicate that the volume of literature exploring XR in environmental applications is increasing, empirical evidence of its impact is limited, hindering the possibility of presently drawing significant conclusions on its potential benefits. Based on our analyses, we identified thematic, theoretical, and methodological knowledge gaps and provide a guideline to aid future research in the field.2023LCLaura D Cosio et al.Tampere UniversitySustainable HCIClimate Change Communication ToolsCHI
Towards Designing Playful Bodily Extensions: Learning from Expert InterviewsInteractive technologies offer novel opportunities for physically extending our bodies, with the most prominent examples being prosthetics along with systems emerging from the wearables community. However, most such systems appear to focus on instrumental benefits, missing out on the opportunity to use bodily extensions for play and its associated benefits (including a lower adoption barrier and the potential to reveal a broader understanding of such technologies). To begin understanding the design of playful bodily extensions, we interviewed five designers of bodily extensions that have been showcased in prestigious academic venues or turned into commercial products. Here we present themes and actionable advice from these interviews for the design of playful bodily extensions through a thematic analysis. Our work aims to support the design of future playful bodily extensions while promoting the experiential qualities of bodily extension design, with the ultimate goal of bringing more playful experiences to people’s lives.2023OBOğuz 'Oz' Buruk et al.Tampere UniversityShape-Changing Interfaces & Soft Robotic MaterialsFull-Body Interaction & Embodied InputCHI
Longing to be the Mountain: A Scoping Review about Human-Nature Interaction for Health PurposesEngaging with nature enriches people’s life greatly, and it is a particularly powerful wellbeing activity. Unsurprisingly, researchers in HCI and beyond seek to augment and extend the relationship people have with nature through technology, to positively enhance their health as a result. In this paper, we report on a scoping review that examines research exploring health, nature, and technology research. By charting 29 papers from the last five years, we produce a situated snapshot of the current research landscape and identify three trends within the paper pool: Despite the potential for rich, experiential engagements, human-nature interaction is often understood as an endeavour that is 1) universal, 2) flattened and 3) disconnected from everyday life. We reflect on our findings to outline design opportunities for human-nature interaction that extend and re-orientate it; to design for multi-dimensional caring experiences that allow for a more-than-just-human understanding of nature.2023VSVelvet Spors et al.Tampere UniversitySustainable HCIHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)CHI
Exploring Food based Interactive, Multi-Sensory, and Tangible Storytelling ExperiencesMuch work has been done on the design of both interactive narratives and food-based interaction systems, however their intersection has received little attention within the design research community. We took the relative dearth of food-based interactive storytelling systems as an opportunity to explore a compelling design space for multisensory interactive narratives, given these few systems often position people only as passive observers. We report the results of a design workshop conducted among the authors who are design researchers in interactive narratives and food-based play. In the workshop, we discussed existing works, asynchronously brainstormed new food-based interactive storytelling systems, and then reconvened to discuss our ideas. We present the portfolio of designs that arose from this workshop, and the design themes that we synthesized from the portfolio. We recommend how to position people not just as observers, but as active participants in the interactive food-based storytelling system.2021SGSaumya Gupta et al.Interactive Narrative & Immersive StorytellingFood Culture & Food InteractionDIS
Snowflakes: A Prototyping Tool for Computational JewelrySmart-jewelry design has many layers such as comfort, ergonomics, fashionability, interactivity, and functionality that create a complex design process, making the form exploration challenging. Various wearable prototyping tools were developed to overcome this challenge; however, they are usually textile-based and do not target smart jewelry design. To bridge this gap, we developed Snowflakes that differentiates from existing tools by \textit{1) allowing designers to explore different jewelry forms, 2) incorporating external materials such as leather, 3) creating form factors that fit body parts with flexible connectors.} In this paper, we explain the design process of Snowflakes which is inspired by 7 design parameters (limbs, materials, grip, fastener, decoration, placement, form) extracted through the examination of non-smart jewelry. We also demonstrate three reimplementations and design concepts implemented with Snowflakes. Our exploration with Snowflakes contributes to the wearable community in terms of smart-jewelry visual expressions, interaction modalities, and the merger of traditional and computational materials.2021OBOğuz 'Oz' Buruk et al.Tampere UniversityHaptic WearablesCustomizable & Personalized ObjectsCHI
Towards the Next Generation of Gaming WearablesRecent studies on gaming wearables show that wearables can contribute to the gaming experience by bolstering performativity , facilitating social interaction, and accommodating distinct interaction modalities. Still, these studies focused on contexts such as role-playing, casual, or festival games. Stakeholder-oriented research that explores the integration of wearables for mainstream gaming platforms such as game consoles is scarce. To fill this gap, we have conducted an exploratory study through 6 participatory design workshops focusing on different aspects of wearables with 33 participants from different stakeholders. As a result, we have created fifteen design themes and three gaming wearable concepts that led to seven actionable design implications which can be adopted by designers and researchers for designing gaming wearables.2021OBOğuz 'Oz' Buruk et al.Tampere UniversityHaptic WearablesGame UX & Player BehaviorCHI
Transurbanism: Smart Cities for TranshumansThe current trends related to ‘smart cities’ are bringing the cityscapes of movies such as Blade Runner and Cyberpunk 2077 closer to our immediate reality. The question of what will the cities of the future look like is at the heart of urban studies. In parallel, a similar question is posed by (trans)humanists about the future of humanity and its possible technological enhancements. However, (trans)humanity and future cities are defined in a bi-directional dependency. Therefore, we have to answer the questions of future humans and cities simultaneously. This paper maps several ways of interacting between transhuman communities and smart cities to understand their possible effects on governing, design and society at large resulting in a framework that will work as a cautionary tale and an inspirational blueprint for imagining future urbanity.2020MTMattia Thibault et al.Smart Cities & Urban SensingTechnology Ethics & Critical HCIDIS