Reflections on a synergistic format for disseminating research through design

Abstract

CHI is more than a conference, it is an international community of researchers and practitioners who want to make a difference. Everything we do is focused on uncovering, critiquing and celebrating radically new ways for people and technology to evolve together. People in their everyday contexts, in diverse regions of the world, from very different backgrounds, with alternative outlooks on life drive this innovation. As you take part in the conference sessions we really hope you will experience how powerful this people-centred approach to technological transformation can be.CHI as a conference is now in its 32nd year and has grown to become the premier international forum on human-computer interaction, gathering us all to share innovative interactive insights that shape people's lives. CHI draws together a multidisciplinary community from around the globe. Our great strength is our ability to bring together students and experts, researchers and practitioners, scientists, designers and engineers, drawing from their rich perspectives to create new visions of human-computer interaction. This year's conference theme is One of a CHInd. We chose this nearly two years ago as we began planning for this event. It has helped us focus our efforts and we hope you will use it to keep your eyes open to the bigger picture amongst all the excitement, range of presentations and activities at the conference. CHI 2014 is One of CHInd because it is a celebration of the conference's one of a kind diversity; from the broad range of backgrounds of its attendees, to the diverse spectrum of communities and fields that the conference and its research have an impact on. CHI 2014 will take place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Canada, a city itself known for its one of a kind cultural diversity. But, CHI 2014 is more than a celebration of the diversity of our community and conference setting. We hope that this year's event, more than anything, reminds you that the "people", "participants", "users" or "humans" that you hear described throughout this week are actually uniquely wonderful individuals full of hopes, concerns, joys and frustrations. CHI is here to serve all of these one of a kinds.CHI 2014 features two outstanding keynote speakers: Booker prize winning author, Margaret Atwood; and, leading UX designer, Scott Jenson. New for CHI 2014, we have Provoke! Wisdom! Impact! plenary talks first thing each morning on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Come along, join the crowd and be energised by our speakers who will each bring in their experience of the Big Picture to inspire us. The talks will be short -twenty minutes -and then the rest of the day's programme will begin. We are also delighted to host a timely retrospective exhibition on wearable technology curated by Thad Starner and Clint Zeagler.CHI 2014 also includes two days of focused workshops and four days of technical content, including CHI's prestigious technical program, with 15 parallel sessions of rigorously reviewed research Papers, engaging Panels, Case ...

Lanterns

“…The study reported on in this paper is a part of a longitudinal Research-through-Design (RtD) [20,47,55] programme of work (ongoing for three years at the time of this study) exploring how IoT can be configured in creative ways to offer children in a wider age range (i.e. zero to nine years old) new opportunities to free play together outdoors.…”

“…In our work on a funded, UK-based, Research-through-Design (RtD) [20,27,47,55] project, we have been exploring the Interaction Design opportunities for supporting children's outdoor free play via programmable IoT devices that are now widely available for children. Engaging with extant work, we recognise the importance of studying prototypes in real world outdoor environments, by considering, for example, how outdoor play incorporates its topographical features (such as trees, walls, and open spaces).…”

Ritual Machines I & II

“…We wish now to turn to matters of design. The work that we are producing within our research sits squarely within an emerging community of practitioner-researchers who engage in Research Through Design [14,50]. This is becoming of increasing interest to the HCI community [16,39], and resonates with our work because of the potential value of making design interventions and material explorations explicitly as a form of inquiry [16], with materiality being so important to an understanding of domestic spaces [30].…”

Prototyping Things: Reflecting on Unreported Objects of Design Research for IoT

“…However, there remains concern that the objects themselves are underappreciated: in recent years, there has been increased effort to consider the role of 'things' in HCI research, recognising that "the things of design research have remained conspicuously overlooked, under-engaged with, and, for the most part, absent from the CHI conference" [28]. The CHI workshop series on this topic [28], the Pictorials track at DIS and the Research through Design conference [41] represent different avenues for thinking more about the role of prototypes and other 'things' in our research.…”