Interaction Design

"Design Fiction is the deliberate use of diegetic prototypes to suspend disbelief about change"  - Bruce Sterling, Wired Magazine, 2013 Design Fiction can be defined as a part of speculative design which also is embedded into Critical Design. These departments can also overlap. Design Fiction heavily relies on the "What if?" questions. It also often reflect on the present and how we want to live in the future. Diegetic Prototypes are the most used tools for illustrating Design Fiction. They help to provoke debates and discussions. There is a constant cycle between science fiction (→ design fiction) and research . While science fiction may inspire researches to explore a new field of knowledge, the findings of a research paper offer new materials for science fiction.

Bodystorming is an attempt to solve the occurring problem in a place where the phenomena (or parts of them) is directly observable . All participants are required to observe the scenario while actively acting out the  activities   that  are related to the phenomena. While acting out, imagine having objects that may cause complications or consider people with disabilities - what impact do these complications have on the observed phenomena?

A research method to gather information that is used for when the target group is unknown or unfamiliar . Cultural probes allows the establishment of a connection between designers and their target group. It is a more playful method, making it more fun for the involved groups. Target groups are asked to explore their environment by themselves and document their experiences. For the documentation visual recordings are often used as they allow the designers to understand and relate to the environment more easily. These tools may include diaries, maps, cameras, postcards, etc. Traditional questioning methods can also be included, however, these questions should be open and allow the targeted person to elaborate as much as possible. It is important to note that Cultural Probes are adaptable - each approach depends on the target group , wherefore for each target group a different approach is needed. This research method supports the usage of physical objects which can help target gro...

A design method for designs that don't necessarily have to work (i.e prototypes) - instead, it demonstrates views of possible futures.  Diegetic prototyping fluctuates between what is possible and what is currently available . It serves as inspiration for new designs and ideas where the project's possibility of it actually working is less important. For diegetic prototyping all tools can be used, such as physical objects, literature, media, etc. It is in fact recommendable to use other types of concepts visualisations such as video, play or storyboards. In same cases, however, a functioning prototype is needed - these functioning prototypes can instead only focus on a small aspect of the full diegetic prototype.

Defamiliarisation is a design method that prompts the designer to estrange the known, the obvious and the familiar. It allows the reflection on our own design practices, the observation of life and our designs from a non-obvious point of view. This enables the findings of new possibilities, cancels out existing assumptions and causes the designer to avoid overlooking problems. Defamiliarisation supports the act of asking questions that are perceived as obvious and stupid at first . This is the challenging aspect of the methods, but will lead to prosperous results. Another aspect of this method is whether cultural representations, patterns and trends can be broken. Not always is the most obvious solution the best. It is important to note that defamiliarisation and design ethnography are linked together - Western solutions, for example, aren't always the right ones for other nations and cultures.

Design principles that focus on designing a sustainable habitat for humans . Defined during the 70's in Australia by a student and a professor who were interested in the effects civilisation has on its surroundings (nature).  perma = "permanent" culture = "agriculture" Permaculture design commends the protection of the environment and the allowance to work with  nature, instead of against it. Its main ideas are: care for the people  → design that people can benefit from care for the earth  → design that doesn't destroy the environment fair shares  → recourses shouldn't be hoarded by one group alone, they should be accessible to everyone Additionally to these three core ideas, permaculture design possess 12 design principles that should be followed: observe and interact → observe what already exists (environment, natural influences, already available systems, etc...) catch and store energy → ...

A part of design that focus on ethnography. Design ethnography focuses on everyday life experiences and allows an empathetic understanding of people and their culture - it encourages designers to design from their user's point of view. Design ethnography often has social effects (→ Frankfurter Küche ) and focuses on contextual meanings. Ethnographic designers become interpreters of culture while trying to understand the future users of their design. Additional note: ethnography Ethnography means "description of people" - it is a research methodology that is related to humans. It includes the study of culture and behaviour. →  Ethnography leads to the development of different empathies. Nicolas Nova, a professor at the Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD - Genève), illustrates in his book  Beyond Design Ethnography - How Designers Practice Ethnographic Research an example of a designer's approach when working with design  ethnography.  Beyond Des...

A system and its functions that are unknown to the majority of users. Such systems are only understood by experts. While the uninformed majority are cast out of understanding and therefore influencing the system, experts can manipulate it for their own purposes. →  an interaction designer should strive against the creation of blackbox systems