Cocoon – conceptualisation of a virtual membrane in the current transition towards more-than-human design

Authors

Cornelia Hulling, Umeå Institute of Design
Jan von Loeper, Umeå Institute of Design
Swathi Swathi Swathi, Umeå Institute of Design
Yanyi Lu, Umeå Institute of Design

Abstract

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, existing sociotechnical work phenomena are revealed and magnified. With the help of a design case, this paper discusses where the Human-Centred Design (HCD) paradigm meets boundaries, asking to expand and shift towards More-Than-Human Design. The case at hand presents the metaphor ‘Cocoon’, furthermore allowing to speculate on the broader concept of ‘virtual membrane’. Recontextualising the case from the scales of workspheres and from user–tool towards human– nonhuman relations, we critique and discuss the socio-technical implications of HCD.

Keywords

Remote work, Boundary, Human-centered design, Posthuman design, Tangible interface

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2021.15

Citation

Hulling, C., von Loeper, J., Swathi, S.S.,and Lu, Y.(2021) Cocoon – conceptualisation of a virtual membrane in the current transition towards more-than-human design, in Brandt, E., Markussen, T., Berglund, E., Julier, G., Linde, P. (eds.), Nordes 2021: Matters of Scale, 15-18 August, Kolding, Denmark. https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2021.15

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Conference Track

Exploratory Papers