Electronic workshops in computing · 2007 · 286 citations · 11 references
ArtsDesignDesign TheoryEthnographyInteraction DesignDesign EthicsDesign ResearchTechnology Appropriation
Ethnographic studies show that users frequently adapt or subvert technology in unforeseen ways, a phenomenon viewed as positive yet paradoxically difficult to design for. The authors propose guidelines for designing with appropriation, drawing on experience and literature, and demonstrate their application in two case studies. The study concludes that while designers cannot predict the unexpected, they can create designs that accommodate it.
Ethnographies often show that users appropriate and adapt technology in ways never envisaged by the designers, or even deliberately subverting the designers’ intentions. As design can never be complete, such appropriation is regarded as an important and positive phenomenon. However designing for appropriation is often seen as an oxymoron; it appears impossible to design for the unexpected. In this paper we present some guidelines for appropriation based on our own experience and published literature and demonstrate their use in two case studies. You may not be able to design for the unexpected, but you can design to allow the unexpected.
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Allan MacLean, Kathleen Carter, Lennart Lövstrand et al. · 1990 · 399 citations
Arts, Design, Systems Engineering +14
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Arts, Design, Digital Design +16