Understanding Craft-Based Inquiry in HCI

Abstract

Over the last decade, a number of craft-based approaches to research have emerged within the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). In this paper, we examine the roots of crafting as they apply to these approaches, which blend analog crafts with digital technology, and we outline three defining characteristics: the integration of analog and digital crafting processes, the creation of highly refined products, and the creation of a deep and embodied knowledge. Moreover, we demonstrate how Richard Sennett's tripartite deconstruction of the crafting process can be applied to support analysis of the types and processes of knowledge generated in craft-based approaches to HCI.