the home as an biological machine....

A different perspective in understanding the kitchen environment. Almost like a living organism...

Slow design and slow technology

What is slow design?

http://www.mashpedia.com/Sustainable_design

"Slow design outcomes encourage a reduction in economic, industrial and urban metabolisms, and hence consumption, by: serving basic human needs; designing for space to think, react, dream, and muse; designing for people first, commercialization second; balancing the local with the global and the social with the environmental; demystifying and democratizing design by re-awakening individual’s own design potential; and catalyzing social transformation towards a less materialistic way of living (Fuad-Luke p. 19)"

Sandberg (2011) describes the theory of slow theory and how for example the compass table and other objects created by Dunne and Raby represent slow design "Placebo objects" in her Decelerated design, Master of Arts thesis at University of Iowa. 

Slow design is related to emotionally durable design. I'm looking forward to Chapmans new book :  Chapman argues that the process of consumption is, and has always been, motivated by complex emotional drivers. This is about far more than just the mindless purchasing of new things. Instead it is a journey towards the ideal or desired self, that through cyclical loops of desire and disappointment, which becomes serial destruction.

Related to this is also:

slow technology. (Hallnäs and Redström, 2001)

slow consumption.
slow interaction. 

Some references:

Chapman, Jonathan. "Design for (Emotional) Durability."

Design Issues

25, no. 4 (2009): 29-35.

Chapman, J., Meaningful Stuff: Design, Ecology & the Human Condition, Routledge, London (forthcoming, 2014)

Fuad-Luke, Alastair. "Slow Theory: A Paradigm for Living Sustainably?" Slowdesign.org.

Accessed May 18, 2011. http://www.slowdesign.org/slowtheory.html.

Strauss, Carolyn, and Alastair Fuad-Luke. "The Slow Design Principles." Slowlab.net. 2008.

http://www.slowlab.net/CtC_SlowDesignPrinciples.pdf.

Papenek, V. Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change. New York: Pantheon Press

Lars Hallnäs and Johan Redström. 2001. Slow Technology – Designing for Reflection. Personal Ubiquitous Comput. 5, 3 (January 2001), 201-212.

Sandberg, Abigail Jane. Decelerated design. Diss. The University of Iowa, 2011.

Visualization of design-oriented research.

Interesting perspectives of design research!
Visualizing research in design.

Written for Interactions magazine by Liz Sanders. Edited by Hugh Dubberly

The addicted society - What is your relation to your mobile phone?

Technology changes our relation to each other. It adds some things, and removes other things - and changes our meeting points. Nil Eyal wrote in TechCrunch how technology is making meetings worse. I think he here refers to business meetings, but this is thoughtful for any kind of meeting I would say;-)

"It seems that whenever people meet in person these days, they do so while separating their attention between the people in the room and the devices in their hands. Somehow, it has become socially acceptable to digitally masturbate in each other’s company. You might say, “but I’m taking notes or responding to an important request!” No you’re not, you are digitally dicking around."

"Most corrosive however, is the fact that less attention means worse outcomes. When people use their devices during meetings, even just for a quick sec, they eventually rejoin the conversation, aware that they may have missed something while they were mentally away. They fear revealing that they were not paying attention and tend to shut down. Thus, otherwise valid concerns and bright ideas are never discussed. Their lack of participation only serves to make the meeting less productive, less interesting, and more boring. Conveniently, to escape the discomfort of being not only bored, but also increasingly paranoid, more device usage ensues and the cycle continues."

Reblogged from:

Nil Eyal: Tech Is Making Meetings Worse, It’s Time For Digital Hat Racks, Tech Crunch, 2012-12-09, (http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/09/digital-hat-racks/)