Journal of Design, Business & Society - Current Issue

Purpose: This article reviews the theoretical foundations of interaction design to draw attention to three theoretical foundations of the field. It suggests that these three foundations endure even as the theory, practice and exploration of interaction design continue to evolve. Methodology: The article integrates and extends the foundational work of prior theorists to contribute novel responses to persistent questions about the nebulous nature of interaction design and its relationship with digital technologies as they continue to develop. It takes the form of a review, integrating the work of key theorists within the field, including Gui Bonsiepe, Kristina Höök, Jon Kolko, Jonas Löwgren and Erik Stolterman amongst others. Findings: An integrative review of the literature leads to a proposal for three foundations for interaction design, that it: (1) involves seeing the world as design for dialogues between users and complex artefacts; (2) pertains to particular kinds of design complexity and (3) is concerned with dialogues that extend across both the material and the virtual and involve control and representation technologies. Implications: The article discusses theoretical underpinnings of interaction design and makes a novel contribution to an ongoing discussion within the field about coherency. The work has particular significance for those involved in teaching interaction design. Originality: Three theoretical foundations for interaction design are suggested in this article. They are a synthesis of prior theoretical works leading to a novel perspective on the coherency between interaction design exploration, practice and theory.

Purpose/audience: Designed artefacts intended for users and markets serve primarily functional and pragmatic uses, yet there are other forms of designed artefacts whose purpose for being is to present concepts, inspire thought and provoke action. Their existence is not utilitarian but one of speculation. In this article, we draw attention to how materials, technologies and ideas are brought together in speculative forms of editorial design that confront the existential crisis of our times – the climate emergency. In doing so, we aim to catalyse future work on hybrid print-digital books and design for activism. Methodology/approach: Through a critical reflection of the process of designing, developing and publicly exhibiting an interactive book-of-the-future centred on a contemporary environmental issue, we interrogate the design of multimodal, polyvocal artefacts and their place in public and academic discourse. We briefly explain the origins and motivations of the project to create The Climate Domesday Book, analyse the design and production process and critically review both the physical book design and the digital texts within (films, poetry, art, performances and writing). Findings: Manifest as a printed-digital speculative artefact, The Climate Domesday Book is a diegetic prototype of the book-of-the-future, a knowledge-building artefact through graphesis and a discursive design that stimulates thought and action. Temporally and conceptually, it shifts its mode of existence from an ambiguous project towards a generative design and – eventually – a design for activism. The collaborative design of discursive artefacts can play a part in shaping public understanding and discourse on critical issues. Such artefacts facilitate new social connections, provoke individual action and serve as catalysts for social and technological innovation. Implications for practice, society or research: Functionalist or utilitarian forms of design – products, processes, services and built environments – are prevalent in everyday life, yet these do little to advance our thinking about possible, desirable or alternative futures. By contrast, multimodal, polyvocal activist designs afford designers and users/readers/publics the opportunity to interrogate contemporary (and persistent) issues of human concern in imaginative ways and provoke positive action in response. Originality/value: Our ‘book-of-the-future’ draws attention to the possibility of hybrid print-digital publications as lean-back/stand-back and lean-forward/step-forward discursive and activist devices in either public or private spaces, as alternatives to agonistic street demonstration or direct action and as exemplars of aesthetic, activist energy humanities.

New employees often question their roles, expectations and fit within the workplace. Reducing these uncertainties is accomplished via a complex process of organizational assimilation (OA), which varies based on the individual, their workplace and environmental shifts. Evidence suggests the effects of organizational change may be especially pronounced in marginalized employees, not only among those from underrepresented groups but also from those lacking established professional networks (i.e. entry-level workers and organizational newcomers). While scholars in other fields have cited the importance of OA, little is known about its determinants in design. Understanding these factors is critical as the field seeks to diversify while facing changing norms. This study employed the Organizational Assimilation Index and Ragins and McFarlin’s Mentor Role Instrument to understand OA determinants. Responses from 92 emerging designers suggest that firm size, market sector and tenure bore little influence on OA. Yet those from underrepresented groups felt significantly less assimilated. Conversely, a mentor’s friendship, coaching and counselling can enhance assimilation. This study’s exploratory findings offer preliminary but important insights regarding those factors that may influence the assimilation of emerging designers. More specifically, it highlights the valuable role of mentorship while lending empirical evidence to potential challenges facing designers from underrepresented groups.

Intersectional feminist thinking has the potential to promote an understanding of the dynamics of oppression in design and foster ways to minimize them. The study presented in this article explores how it has been embraced in the design field so far. A literature review process and an analysis of three cases characterize the study presented in this article. The research shows that although emerging, research on embracing intersectional thinking in design is relatively scarce. The literature review enabled the identification of three design approaches that officially state the adoption of an intersectional lens. These approaches were analysed against two core principles of intersectionality – pluralism and contextualization. Their description and analysis are reported here to exemplify how intersectional thinking has been implemented into design processes and to highlight existing strengths, challenges and opportunities. The article offers some reflections on future directions for intersectional design approaches to engage more closely with intersectionality.