Culturally
Embedded
Computing

/ Design ethnography for shifting temporalities

This project explores new ways to integrate early-stage design research with ethnography in order to better understand and design for how people think about, use, and (maybe) ‘manage’ their time using emerging digital technologies. We are using early speculative design sketches inspired by early-form ethnographic and historical data as a form of ethnographic ‘writing’ which can deepen ethnographic analysis while leading to innovative forms of design. Through these designs, we explore the varied ways in which people experience time, how they negotiate demands on their time, and the kinds of infrastructure required to enact particular conceptions of time (e.g. the idea that individuals can and should control their own time to achieve optimal performance). We also explore alternatives to common experiences of time by drawing on ethnographic studies of populations outside the ‘time mainstream.’

Participants: Vera Khovanskaya, Phoebe Sengers