The document discusses the emergence of design anthropology as a hybrid field that brings together design and anthropology. It provides examples of companies that employ design anthropologists and describes how anthropological fieldwork methods like ethnography are useful for exploratory design research. The document also presents a case study of a collaboration between anthropologists and designers at Motorola to research social TV watching behaviors and gather ideas for peripheral devices to enable shared TV viewing experiences.

1. When Design Met Anthropology Christina Wasson

2. Outline of presentation How design met anthropology Emergence of a new, hybrid field: design anthropology Process of collaboration Case study Collaboration between design and anthropology during economic crisis

3. Prior social science partners with design Cognitive psychology/human factors Marketing research

4. How design met anthropology Computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) Xerox PARC E-Lab “ Ethnography” became buzzword rather than anthropology

5. What is ethnography? Fundamental research approach of ANTHROPOLOGY (cultural and linguistic) Developed in early 1900s as a novel approach to understanding cultures: immersion, “participant observation” The goal of ethnography is “to grasp the native’s point of view, his relation to life, to realize his vision of his world” (Malinowski 1922:24-25) Combined humanistic and scientific elements

6. Why ethnography appeals to designers Reveals use in context (not lab) Goes beyond what people say they do (focus group) to what they really do Uncovers discrepancies between designers’ intended use of product and everyday behaviors Power of ethnographic video as communication tool

7. Emergence of “design anthropology” Interdisciplinary, hybrid field Jobs - Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, IBM, SAP, Wells Fargo, Pitney Bowes, Philips, Rolls Royce, etc. + consultancies Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference www.epic2009.com Uncovers social and symbolic aspects of user experience Especially useful for exploratory research

8. The downside of popularity “ Ethnography Lite” Anyone can do it No theory toolkit Data collection, not analysis

9. Theories in design anthropology General anthropology “toolkit” includes theories about globalization, modernity, consumption, technology use, identity, religion, kinship, political economy, social organization... Particular focus on interactions between people and artifacts, drawing on ethnomethodology, conversation analysis, activity theory E-Lab’s AEIOU framework: Activities Environments Interactions Objects Users

10. Methods in design anthropology: data collection Video recording Open to innovation Shadowing Guerilla fieldwork Photo narratives

11. Methods in design anthropology: analysis What are the patterns? Intuition/memory can be misleading Use software to code videorecordings and transcripts Move from patterns to explanatory models

12. Collaboration between anthropologists and designers

13. What can go wrong in the collaboration Anthropologists may feel their expertise is not valued and they are underutilized Designers encounter frustration when they are given research results that do not point to practical applications

14. E-Lab’s partnership between research and design Staffing Organizational structures

15. E-Lab’s work process: the bowtie model

16. Case study Social TV Peripherals: Ethnographic Research and Design Implications Client: Motorola Spring 2008

17. Social TV Goal: enabling people to watch TV “together” when they are not physically co-present Software runs over TV that shows buddy list, who is watching what, ability to go to same show and open audio connection

18. Peripheral devices Ambient light or other signal to indicate presence when members of buddy list watch TV Remote control to interact with the application Audio connection (microphone and speakers) for communication between participants

19. Fieldwork 10 in-home interviews to see how family members share devices and how they personalize them 5 participatory design sessions to gather more information about sharing and ownership of devices, and to stimulate design ideas for the Social TV peripherals

20. Participatory design sessions Materials: Play-Doh, Legos, paper and colored pencils Explanation of Social TV Invitation to design peripherals Discussion of designs to elicit family practices and needs

21. Tangible models of social TV peripherals

22. Explanatory frameworks Family dynamics around the remote How copresent families watch TV Mobility while watching TV

23. Family dynamics around the remote

24. Family dynamics around the remote

25. Family dynamics around the remote

26. How copresent families watch TV Current practices that need to be taken into account to develop a successful social TV product Each family member pursued own trajectory of activities, and they often engaged in multitasking Every household in the in-home interviews had more than one television Majority of TV watching was done alone Family members connected to their friends virtually via phone, internet Design implication: one person, one social TV

27. How copresent families watch TV

28. How copresent families watch TV

29. How copresent families watch TV

30. Mobility while watching TV

31. Ideas from participatory design sessions Reconfigure peripherals to just a remote and docking station; remote includes touch screen, audio, ambient lights (inspired by iPhone, iPod) Use sound in addition to light to indicate presence Aesthetics should be clean, timeless, unobtrusive; concerns about the ambient orb

32. Conclusions: collaboration between design and anthropology in a time of economic crisis Enhancing the “fit” between products and users is more important than ever Contributing to innovation and design thinking Uncovering a shift in the culture of consumption Globalization

33. Questions?