Designing with traces

Abstract

This paper draws on new materialist perspectives to introduce the analytic category of "material traces" to the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). Material traces reveal the dynamic and evocative nature of form by concretizing a unique location in time and space. Traces of skill, use, and time, for example, are valued for their emotional resonance in addition to the pragmatic goals in which they are embedded. Using this category, we develop a framework for design pedagogy that offers the lenses of attributes, entanglements, and trajectories as tools for gaining critical purchase on the objects produced. Mobilizing this framework within a classroom, design students envision poignant relationships to the non-human, engaged physics learning, and opportunities for reflection around breakage and repair. These design examples reveal how the category of material traces comes alive in practice and pedagogy. We end by discussing how this study of traces points to new opportunities for critical reflection in HCI.