Abstract
This paper follows the design and creation of an artifact called “Poke it with a stick”, a promiscuous lighting fixture that invites users to play with its tactile operation switch. This ongoing research investigates how autoethnography could be adapted in the context of research through design while support practitioners regarding the contextualization of their work. Autoethnography, an introspective exploration, enables the emergence of narratives that support the understanding of the tacit aspects of creativity. This ongoing research investigates how autoethnography, as a critical approach (Denshire, 2013), could adapt in research through design methodologies, opening up a space evoking self-reflection while dealing with documentation issues. Using autoethnography the designer/researcher is addressing issues such as materiality, functionality, strangeness and provocation. The presentation and the conclusions of such a personal story bring forward issues regarding objectivity, generalization of knowledge and authorship. Research through design practices are a space where “the internal decision making of the researcher is considered valid and noteworthy” (Duncan & Fellow, 2004). The outcome of this specific autoethnographic research is an artifact, characterized by a narrative hybridity. Although the created artifact could be perceived as a concrete object, this paper investigates an alternative ontology; the esoteric narratives shaped through diaries accompany the artifact and are equally important to the crafting process by unmasking a creative process that is otherwise magical or enigmatic due to the internal decision making of the craft process.
Keywords
Autoethnography; Narrative Inquiry; Embodiment in Design; Self-Explication; Propositional Artifacts
DOI
https://10.21606/eksig2019.105
Citation
Triantafylli, N.,and Bofylatos, S.(2019) “Poke it With a Stick”, Using Autoethnography in Research Through Design, in Nithikul Nimkulrat, Kristi Kuusk, Julia Valle Noronha, Camilla Groth and Oscar Tomico (eds.), Knowing Together – experiential knowledge and collaboration, 23–24 September 2019, Tallinn, Estonia. https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2019.105
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
“Poke it With a Stick”, Using Autoethnography in Research Through Design
This paper follows the design and creation of an artifact called “Poke it with a stick”, a promiscuous lighting fixture that invites users to play with its tactile operation switch. This ongoing research investigates how autoethnography could be adapted in the context of research through design while support practitioners regarding the contextualization of their work. Autoethnography, an introspective exploration, enables the emergence of narratives that support the understanding of the tacit aspects of creativity. This ongoing research investigates how autoethnography, as a critical approach (Denshire, 2013), could adapt in research through design methodologies, opening up a space evoking self-reflection while dealing with documentation issues. Using autoethnography the designer/researcher is addressing issues such as materiality, functionality, strangeness and provocation. The presentation and the conclusions of such a personal story bring forward issues regarding objectivity, generalization of knowledge and authorship. Research through design practices are a space where “the internal decision making of the researcher is considered valid and noteworthy” (Duncan & Fellow, 2004). The outcome of this specific autoethnographic research is an artifact, characterized by a narrative hybridity. Although the created artifact could be perceived as a concrete object, this paper investigates an alternative ontology; the esoteric narratives shaped through diaries accompany the artifact and are equally important to the crafting process by unmasking a creative process that is otherwise magical or enigmatic due to the internal decision making of the craft process.