Undermine Through Design
Umeå Institute of Design
This is my graduation project from the MFA Interaction Design at the Umeå Institute of Design.
The project was based on my vision that the art of interaction design is failing to serve humans. We, humans, are becoming the product to be consumed by our technologies. Creating overconsumption and addiction. However, I believe that good interaction design can also be the remedy to this issue created by it. Celebrating fluidity, creating interactions that trigger reflection, empower people, and create sustainable behavior. This project is exploring ways of reaching this goal through an experimental approach.
The Toilet(sc)roller
Are we more aware of our behaviour when it is reflected by the space around us? Using our physical surroundings to create friction in our engagements with the digital.
This experiment went viral on Linkedin with over 150.000 views. Creating an online discussion about the role of design in creating behaviour.
It got exhibited in NEMO Science museum as an example of a makers mindset.
Data Un-matcher
How could an off-boarding experience with your data look like? Are we aware of the amount of data we have? Do we still need this data? Why do we clean-up our oceans but not our servers? When we visualize our digital traces and present them to people we can actively take responsibility.
Creative process
Single Frame Feed
What if we had to live with a single frame of our feed for 24h? By changing the update rate do we value our content more? Do content makers become artist exhibiting in peoples houses? Who decides which content is shown, us or an algorithm?
By altering the update rate we might revalue our content, this to counter our disposable mindset we have towards our data.
The experiments led to some design handles that were a small step at the bigger challenge. The final design aims to create a place where a dialogue can happen so that together we can take a stance.
Selected Press:
Linkedin viral +150.000 views
NEMO Science Museum
ThingsCon 2022
Get in Touch to Prototype the future
👋 Ilsepouwels.design@gmail.com
🤙 +31683615064
🤝 www.linkedin.com/in/ilse-pouwels