METHODS: technology probes TOOLS: Arduino microntroller, various sensors and actuators, various hand tools
+ OVERVIEW We praise or chastise our products based on how they perform. Occasionally, we give a well-loved (or loathed) object a pet nickname. How might everyday objects amplify our perceptions of them as possessing agency-possibly even human-like thoughts or behaviors-in order to increase our attachment to these objects? In order to investigate this question, I am developing a series of products that have been redesigned to (mis)use their functionality to help express their needs and desires. These Animate Objects (i) encourage use of their functionality by means tangential to their core functionality (e.g. the chair uses aesthetic ambient lighting to encourage sitting), and (ii) inhibit use of their functionality by subverting their core functionality (e.g. the clock displays the incorrect time to create playful confusion). In doing so, the hope is that users will interpret and reflect on these objects as possessing human-like needs and desires-rather than treating them as purely functional. Such reflection may cause more thoughtful and enjoyable everyday engagement with these objects, as well as more meaningful and enduring relationships to develop with them over time. + PUBLICATIONS: Pierce, J. (2009). Material Awareness: Promoting Reflection on Materiality and Consumption in Everyday Life. In workshop proceedings of Designing for Reflection on Experience. CHI '08.
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