Design Methods for Accessing the Pluriverse - Workshop

DIS2024 - ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems 2024

Date and Location:

Th workshop took place at IT University, ​Copenhagen-DK, on the 1st July 2024, As ​part of the DIS2024 conference

In recent years, the field of Design and HCI research has expanded to engage with nonhuman perspectives and contexts alongside the human. However, these explorations often remain largely theoretical or small-scale and local. We argue that developing constructive pluriversal perspectives in complex design processes requires more diverse and adventurous experimentation. This one-day workshop asks: What experiential methods are emerging to support pluriversal perspectives in design and HCI? And how can they be leveraged to support designers in navigating complexities while working towards more inclusive and eco-centric design practices?

We invite practitioners and researchers interested in embracing multiple perspectives to experiment and interact with each other’s works and research. Together, we will interact with more-than-human entities such as Moss, bacteria and AI, map their relationalities and discuss how it resonantes with our own practices. We aim to familiarise, connect and think through collaborative modalities and design methodologies that enable deep ecosystem thinking and relationality.

Workshop

Structure

Anticipated

Outcomes and Dissemination

• A collection of shared ideas, vocabulary and suggestions to facilitate further exploration of design methodologies for pluriversal perspectives, that can support the practice of designer and HCI researchers.

• Creation of a community with shared interests and ideas for future collaboration.

Workshop

Organisers

Hadas Zohar

Hadas is a designer and a PhD researcher at The Department of Architecture, Design, Media and Technology at Aalborg University, Copenhagen. With a background in visual design and service design, she is involved in multiple stakeholder projects that address complex societal challenges in the urban realm. In her PhD project, she explores how participatory visual mapping can support thinking through multiple temporalities in complex design projects. Hadas teaches in the Service Systems Design Master at Aalborg University.

Nirit Binyamini Ben-Meir

Nirit is an artist, designer and researcher pursuing her PhD at iGGi - Intelligent Games, Game Intelligence Centre at Queen Mary University of London, exploring More-Than-Human Interactions. She is an associate lecturer in Information Experience Design (IED) at the Royal College of Art. Her research focuses on the integration of living plants into digital systems. She explores the potential of using human-computer-plant interactions to identify current weak points in ecological stewardship. She develops novel methods for evaluating the impacts of interaction design on humans and their relationship with ecology.

Carolina Ramirez Figueroa

Carolina is an architect, designer and researcher working at the intersection of architecture, design, living systems, and critical technologies. She is a Senior Lecturer in Information Experience Design (IED) at The Royal College of Art and her research explores the culture, practices, tools and economies of working and designing with living systems at different scales, ranging from experiences, products, architecture and urban ecologies. In her work, she also looks at imagining and delivering possible futures to challenge and provoke discourses of future technological, social, cultural and environmental issues.

Danielle Barrios-O'Neill

Danielle is a nationally established experimental education and game design scholar, recognized for developing novel post-disciplinary methods of advanced serious play for societal change. She leads the MA Information Experience Design at the RCA, a programme with a foundational interest in complexity and systems change through art and design. Her research on systems approaches in the arts has been published in a number of journals; she is currently completing a book with Palgrave Macmillan titled Systems Play, which develops a novel theory and approach to engaging humans with complexity and multispecies resilience.

Michal Pauzner

Michal is a designer, researcher, and educator based in Tel Aviv, Israel. She is a joint founding director of PADLab Shenkar, and a senior faculty member at the Visual Communication department. Also serving as the Head of the Center for Teaching Excellence, Michal leads various projects and initiatives that look at possible futures of design, pedagogy, ecology, and technology. With her extensive background, Michal has honed her skills in developing effective and inspiring methodologies and creating impactful learning experiences.

Oded Kutok

Oded is an architect, urban planner, designer, and a faculty member at Shenkar. Having served as a planning and social policy advisor for the Government and municipalities in Israel, he contributes to the project's outlook by fostering community-driven inclusive planning. In addition to his role as leader of many environmental projects (from leading urban sustainability plans to curating exhibitions focused on environmental crises), he provides environmental insights through a forward-looking perspective.

Laura Dudek

Laura is a researcher and creative practitioner who uses design to explore how alternative values, belief systems, and ideals can be made tangible through the stuff of everyday life in ways that spark reflection on the kinds of worlds people wish to live in. Her practice investigates complexity— particularly within the nexus of design, sustainability and techno-social responsibility—and the potential of unconventional forms of interaction to help us navigate transdisciplinary contexts.

Erin Robinson

Erin is a PhD researcher at iGGI, University of York, and an experienced artist, interactive installation designer, and music educator specialising in open-ended play in early years’ foundation settings. Her PhD focuses on researching design patterns to support open-ended play experiences in adulthood with interactive installations to support well-being, creativity, physicality and social interaction among players. She combines theory from different interrelated fields, including play design, HCI, sandbox video games and artistic applications of AI to guide creative practice research.

Website design and project assistant: Devanshi Rungta

Workshop

Participants and ​Contributions

Francesca Valsecchi

From participatory research to immersive practice, the work of Associate Professor Francesca Valsecchi develops the “green sense” as the liminal space of human perception and cognition within the pluriverse. She Tongji University, College of Design and Innovation. She established the Ecology and Cultures Innovation Lab to experiment on more-than-human design and the challenges of post-development paradigms. Researches include published, speculative and exhibition works about ecosystems, waterscapes ethnography, urban-nature interaction, urban ecology. Research areas: Design & Nature, Rural-Urban Innovation, Sustainable Food System. She is expert in visualisation and participatory techniques. She has an ongoing practice using alternative photographic processes and bio-media. She is an environmental activist.

In 2019 I established the Ecology and Cultures Innovation Lab as an academic initiative in the Design ​Faculty at Tongji University to contribute to the development of Ecological Civilisation and to develop ​projects and research tapping into the more contemporary theories of more-than-human design and ​human-nature coexistence. Since then, we have a solid stream of teaching activities, funded research ​projects, and international dissemination. We started with a reflection on how to teach design within a ​more-than-human paradigm, in a moment where not many were using this term. We elaborated on a

design methodology to be used in studio courses ("Urban Nature Fabrication: a framework for a ​practice-based teaching methodology of design for the Pluriverse") and started applying to embodied ​and fabrication methods "Integrating Electronic Circuit Design and Fabrication in a Design Studio: ​Discussing Hands-on Learning Approach to Engage Undergraduate Students in Ecologically Relevant ​Design" and "Electronic Circuit Fabrication to Engage in Ecologically Relevant Design - a learning ​approach based on systems interconnectedness" Ecology and Cultures Research Lab regularly engage ​in academic activities at undergraduate and graduate level, involving a variety of design skills ​(electronic and programming, fabrication, interactive media and communication design, data

visualisation). We also launched a city-level initiative in Shanghai, the "Urban Ecology Lab" based on ​community centre which is the pilot study of an urban regeneration initiative. We work with a broad ​interest in nature and ecology-related subjects, exploring what design can do to go beyond the ​distinction between Nature and Culture and instead imagine and realise a world of positive ​relationships between human spaces and the environment. Some of our curriculum: “Sensing ​Ecology”: Electronic Circuits and Programming from Designers to Citizens / Urban Nature and ​Fabrication. Reconnect citizens with nature through interactive design artefacts in a community ​ecology lab / MA Studio of Advanced Media and Communication "Flumen. Exploring and mapping ​Shanghai bioregion and wetland ecosystem" and "Ecological Narratives for Urban Temporary

Spaces"). We got research funds from National Science Foundation of China ("The Contribute of Citizen ​Science to support Urban Nature and Ecological Literacy in Chinese Cities", 2020-2022) and waiting for ​the results for a follow-up application titled "Urban Ecology Lab: A study on scientific mechanisms and ​principles of ecological education through community-scale participation in Chinese cities." Our ​results are available at this website, although latest updates haven't been published yet

Judith Dörrenbächer

Judith Dörrenbächer is a Design Researcher and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Chair of Ubiquitous Design/Experience and Interaction at the University of Siegen. Her research focus is on performative methods in design, theories about animism transferred to human-computer interaction (HCI) and design (techno-animism), and the interactions and design strategies of social robots.

Techno-Mimesis is a performative method involving bodily transformation where humans turn into ​technology and perceive scenarios from the technology’s perspective. I derived Techno-Mimesis from ​the animistic technique of mimesis, identified by the anthropologist Rane Willerslev. He observed how ​indigenous people manipulate their bodies to empathize with other species. However, mimesis is not ​only about understanding the other. It is also about controlling the other and about understanding ​one’s own perspective relationally, leading to self-reflexivity. According to Willerslev, when humans ​imitate an elk during a hunt by moving like one or simulating its smell and sound, they create dual ​perspectives. They are not elk, but they are not not-elk either, resulting in a state where someone is ​both object and subject simultaneously. The hunter sees himself as a subject and the elk as an object, ​while also viewing himself from the outside as an object seen by the elk as a subject. The perspectives ​oscillate. I applied Techno-Mimesis in robotics within various service robot development projects. To ​enable roboticists to move and sense in technologically determined ways, I created simple mockups, or ​prostheses, made from low-tech materials like cardboard. They emulate typical input and output ​modalities (e.g., speech recognition) and hardware (e.g., a platform with wheels). An example is ​eyeglasses that alter the human visual sense to simulate constrained or enhanced vision. These ​prostheses do not perfectly replicate robotic sensing and movement but allow for an embodied ​understanding of robots. In my study, after transformation, the roboticists who became a robot (e.g. a ​shopping robot) acted out a scenario with enacted users (e.g., cooperative shopping). Subsequently, the ​“robots” and the “users” participated in interviews about their experiences. Other than the design ​technique wizard-of-oz, Techno-Mimesis does not aim at improving usability, but at experiencing ​being human and being robot at the same time, highlighting differences and discovering robotic ​strengths. For example, a “robot” experienced the advantage of being unambiguous and ​straightforward when approaching pedestrians. Being unempathetic prevented collisions and ​misunderstandings. Contrarily, if the robot made use of his human-like voice output, confusion or ​even embarrassment resulted. “Customers” of the supermarket, loved the “shopping robot’s” neutrality ​and made it shop condoms or mountains of chocolate. In addition, a “robot” for visually impaired ​people realized to be supernaturally patient, allowing users to repeat questions endlessly. Most robotic ​strengths unveiled because of the double perspectives: The “robots” spontaneously responded in a ​human way – they felt pushed around, ashamed or indiscreet – feelings true robots certainly do not ​have. With the help of our prostheses, they realized being a robot could be an advantage in the scenario. ​In the end, the roboticists explained they might rethink anthropomorphic design, such as the usage of ​voice recognition and to make use of the robot’s unique abilities instead. Thus, in social robotics ​Techno-Mimesis highlights alternatives to anthropomorphism, what is still the dominating design ​strategy. In parallel to indigenous people, who practice mimesis to control relationships to other ​species, designers may practice mimesis to control relationships to their own creations.

Juliana Restrepo-Giraldo

Design researcher/practitioner from Colombia. Currently working on her doctoral project called Relational Homemaking. Juliana is looking at the Andean cosmology of Buen Vivir (Living Well) – which together with feminist ethics and decolonial practices – is presented as an essential and complementary approach to current discourses on design and sustainability. Juliana is interested in everyday stories and focuses on the everyday life at home as an essential scale for sustainable transitions and transformations.

My research work draws inspiration from the Andean cosmology of Buen Vivir and is conveyed in part ​through a collection of “gifts” consisting of stories and recipes. These offerings serve to inspire both ​individual and collective commitments to responsible design and everyday homemaking practices. ​With a focus on everyday life at home, my thesis advocates for a transformative shift towards relational ​and sustainable living. The work encourages practices contributing to the healing and protection of ​relationships with nature and proposes companion practices for cultivating decolonial and ​intersectional approaches in design research and homemaking. As a methodological contribution, I ​propose a series of "Tanteos" (interactions/experiments/actions) and "Companion practices" that ​cultivate designing/research/living otherwise, as well as recognising diverse ways of being, knowing ​and making worlds. These practices are: Cultivating the capacity to wonder, Interrogating the familiar, ​Embracing vulnerability, Walking backwards, Facilitating complex dialogue, Sentipensar (feeling-​thinking) and Blanketing.

Konstantinos Damianakis

Konstantinos is a sound artist, composer and PhD researcher in the Music Department at Goldsmith, University of London. His research explores the aesthetic potential of synthetic acoustic ecologies through sonic arts practice by designing machine listening systems informed by more-than-human perspectives, posthuman philosophy, and methodologies of sonic fiction. In his creative work, he combines digital, analogue, and AI techniques for sound synthesis and composition, field and studio recording, and multimedia programming.

My research critiques the anthropocentric foundations of machine listening while exploring its ​capacity for involving more-than-human sound-worlds in music and sonic arts practice. Applying ​insights from the philosophy of animality and sonic fiction into interactive music composition, this ​paper examines conceptual and pragmatic considerations for designing (anim)algorithms. These ​algorithms simulate the auditory experiences of non-human entities, creating pluriversal interfaces ​that merge human and non-human listening. Through a case study based on Italo Calvino’s 'The Spiral' ​and inspired by Vilém Flusser’s speculative malacology, a machine listening system is developed to ​emulate molluscan auditory mechanisms. This research reconfigures the design of machine listening, ​promoting a multisensory, more-than-human auditory experience.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qrETxMnNi-OOZEjYf0yC4Ua8rCPO5iGX/view?usp=drive_link

Krzysztof Wronski

Krzysztof Wronski is a researcher, designer, and artist intervening in emergent and urgent spaces. In his artistic practice, Krzysztof creates research-driven conceptual works about social and ecological challenges through public interventions. His work does not intend to solve problems but to dance with and around them to promote dialogue, participation, and exploration around potential alternatives. Currently, Krzysztof is focusing on whether and how design and innovation processes could address the existential needs of trees and forests in collaboration with scientists.

Climate change is profoundly impacting and threatening all of Earth's species and eco-systems. My ​project explores how plants, trees, and forests—in their unique ways—are challenged by climatic ​changes to start dialogues and grow awareness around the biological limits around acclimation and ​survival. Tree-Centred Design—a practice I am shaping—explores how technology and innovation ​processes could or should change to address the current and emerging needs of trees and forests. ​Through a program called Dear2050 organized by Climanosco, a climate science foundation, I have ​been collaborating with researchers from the Plant Ecology Research Lab in Lausanne, Switzerland to ​create research-driven artistic intervention that primarily benefit trees.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qK4K6It_p60FtIBQyIPPAXOmI5k-W4H-/view?usp=drive_link

Laura Selby

Laura Selby is a multidisciplinary artist with a research focus in sound and symbiotic relationships, working with touch-sonic interactive sculpture, textile, extended field recording, human and non-human performance, film, chromatography, and spatial soundscape. Incorporating workshops, scientific techniques (chromatography, microscope photography) and engaging critically with emerging sonic machine-learning tools such as RAVE, to create dialogues elevating non-human perspectives. Crafting workshops to engage communities and expand personal and communal perspectives by sharing in research-led encounters and discussion. These have led to outcomes such as the extended listening workshop based in Epping Forest and more recently, mushroom community garden designing with The South London Urban Growers within Brixton (The Remakery).

From the human community, moss to mycelium, and the interconnecting micro-worlds. We are ​contaminating. We are collaborating, colliding, leaving our trace of self behind. Traces consisting of ​voice, thought, idea, particle, breath, and micro-organism. How can we as beings become more ​consciously connected to the non-human, and microbiomes at the foundation of our world’s ​ecologies? Is it possible to develop deeper relational understanding and care of our mutual ​contaminations - through listening? Sonic Contamination is a listening-led creative research and ​design methodology, exploring the idea of contamination. The research is inspired by Ana Sing’s text: ​from The Mushroom at the end of the world expressing the importance of encounter and how ​contamination as a term is a call to action for development between different beings relationally. The ​project investigates how we can connect the varying degree of time and scale that make up our way of ​being as individuals and multi-specie communities. The collection of outcomes attempts to bridge ​audiences empathetically to the intermingling microworlds around us, through forms of sound, touch, ​performance, workshop and story. Creating experiences resulting from listening and field recording ​living systems and environments. A profound reflection by Carlo Rovelli inspired the term time species, ​following the understanding that all beings exist on their own time and the pursuit in bridging to these ​different scales of being, sonically. Using sound as a way to reveal worlds of species normally ​imperceptible to our human auditory perspective is a key tool used to convey and elevate voices of the ​unheard species coexisting in different habitats. Each voice contributes to the polyphonic chorus of an ​ecosystem. Emergent polyphonic assemblages and gathering of timescales, or gathering of rhythms is ​another important element to consider when exploring and appreciating the multiplicity of ​collaboration, using the term rhythm to clarify the temporal trajectories of across-species assemblages. ​Using polyphony in our listening acts also protects the memory and identity of entire landscapes. The ​importance of this is profound. The many stories, beings, and landscape ecology intertwine to form a ​temporal identity mapped together in living voice streams.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dbjPaE4JRVvsszhzFyEb0tExUsnZ4y64/view?usp=drive_link

Natalia Dovhalionok

I am a Creative Researcher and Speculative Designer, as well as an aspiring educator. My practice is centered on the exploration of alternative ways of living; I communicate complex ideas and future experiences. With every project, I strive to foster a commitment to social, environmental empathy and more-then-human perspectives. As a designer, my post-disciplinary skill set is built through collaborations with renowned creative studios such as Superflux, Something&Son, and the artist duo Dash'N'Dem. I also have years of corporate experience working with international brands across various sectors, from luxury fashion and gastronomy to automotive and smart city development. As an educator, I have worked with MA Expanded Practice students at Goldsmiths, University of London, focusing on in-real-life exploration of the landscape, critically challenging our interactions with spaces, architectures, and topographies.

For the past several months, I have been working on a social imaginaries project titled Symphony of ​Symbiosis. This ever-expanding narrative grows through open-ended participant engagement. ​Collectively, we co-create in a series of mixed-media workshops, resulting in participatory ownership ​of a nuanced future vision set in the year 2033 and beyond, and guided by a focus on interspecies ​communications and more-than-human experiences. Symphony of Symbiosis is a fictional world that ​expands with each session, akin to a rooting tree, underpinned by each participant's engagement. I am ​aiming to map this intercultural perceived network of ideas through this narrative. The topic for each ​session is determined by the participants' backgrounds, their unique cultural experiences and ​knowledge, as well as their hopes and dreams. Topics can range from character creation and nuanced ​environmental landscapes to new species, technological speculation, or cultural insights. By bridging ​radical imagination with an open-ended approach to narrative, I am aiming to establish visions for new ​institutions, structures, and visions of techno-environmental symbiosis. The structure of the workshop ​is in constant flux, shifting from traditional Miro board co-participation to in-real-life gamification ​approaches. Currently, my workshops incorporate traditional futures world-building techniques at ​their core, including 'What if' provocations, persona expansions, horizon scanning, STEEP mapping, ​cone mapping, and more. I am in the process of creating a gamified experience that draws participants ​away from their devices and takes us on an in-real-life experiential journey. The world is documented ​through emotive narrative, visual mapping, and AI-enhanced imagery. The initial outcomes are ​presented in the form of a series of visual books titled "Visions." In the near future, I plan to expand this ​into the creation of physical artefacts and digital experiences that explore the diegetic prototypes of the ​narrative in the real world. I am very interested in the "Design Methods for Accessing the Pluriverse" ​Workshop. Firstly, it aligns closely with my ongoing project described above. Secondly, I would love to ​share my insights from workshop development, as well as creative gamification techniques. I am also ​eager to find participants who would be enthusiastic about co-creating alongside me. Additionally, I ​would like to become a participant in the projects of others, exploring ways to transition from the ​speculative realm and find direct impact opportunities.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14ImW-_NZUUBs4_BhwvYMo1LSyrDm09iN/view?usp=sharing

Patricia Csobánczi

Grounded in industrial and sustainable design, my focus lies in participatory and planet-centered approaches through strategic design processes, engaging workshops, and collaborative networks. I'm deeply engaged in plant-centric design and community cultivation, seeking to enhance ecological balance and human-nature connections. Through academic and professional pursuits, I aim to advance planet-centric and design-for-transition methodologies, fostering inclusive and resilient futures.

In my work as a designer, I engage with more-than-human perspectives, aiming to foster a holistic understanding of design that includes ecological and cultural contexts. My approach emphasizes bioregionalism and ecosystem thinking, focusing on experiential learning methods that encourage young people and communities to develop a strong sense of place and environmental stewardship. 1. Bioregionalism and Learning Journeys: As a collaboration, recently proposed a learning journey to create immersive hands-on learning experiences for young adults centred around urban bioregionalism and more-than-human perspectives. This learning journey empowers participants to define a bioregional identity, both professionally and privately, through understanding the place they live in and the more-than-human residents of the place. By understanding and engaging with their local environments, participants learn to appreciate and integrate local natural features, cultural practices, and ecological systems into their design processes. This method involves extensive fieldwork, interaction with local communities, and the creation of projects that reflect the unique characteristics of their bioregion. 2. Design-based Workshops for Children My work with children through design-based workshops focuses on biodiversity and sustainability, particularly through the lens of food culture. One of the elements of this work is to allow children to explore food and their local nature. These workshops are hands-on and participatory, allowing children to interact with food plants and other elements of their local ecosystems. This early engagement with nature fosters a lifelong appreciation for sustainability and ecological health. 3. Design Experiments and Exemplary Design Research Edible Kolding is a project I developed during my studies in the Design for Planet program. The main goal was to engage citizens and communities through experiments to create a sustainable city life. My work was based on experimental design research and exemplary design research. This approach involved prototyping solutions that foster a deeper connection between humans, urban nature, and its non-human communities, ultimately promoting ecological balance and sustainability. Methods for Navigating Complex Design Processes 1. Pluriversal Mapping: Incorporating pluriversal perspectives into design processes requires mapping the relationalities between human and non-human entities. This involves creating visual and interactive maps that illustrate these connections, helping designers to understand and navigate the complex web of relationships within an ecosystem. This method fosters a deeper understanding of how various entities interact and influence each other, leading to more informed and holistic design decisions. 2. Collaborative Modalities: Facilitating collaborative modalities between diverse stakeholders, including non-human entities, is crucial for eco-centric design. Methods such as participatory design workshops, co-creation sessions, and community-led initiatives ensure that multiple perspectives are included in the design process. These modalities encourage designers to engage with local knowledge, respect ecological systems, and create solutions that are culturally and environmentally appropriate. 3. Experiential Learning: Experiential learning methods, such as fieldwork, immersive workshops, and hands-on projects, are essential for integrating more-than-human perspectives into design education. These methods allow participants to engage directly with their environments, fostering a deeper understanding and respect for ecological systems. This approach not only enhances learning outcomes but also inspires innovative and sustainable design solutions.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zza912sonCUIRrJ6lAu6Waxi3DT5jnpy/view?usp=drive_link

Petko Atanasov Karadechev

My name is Petko Karadechev and I am endlessly curious about the entanglements between the sociocultural and sociotechical. I hold a BSc in Cultural Studies, MSc in Techno-Anthropology, and a PhD where I co-created digital materials with neurodivergent youth. I am currently an assistant professor in participatory design for sustainable computing at the Centre for Sustainable and Digital Transformation at Aalborg University, and I have been a member of the Techno-Anthropology and Participation research group since 2017.

Throughout my PhD project, I worked closely with neurodivergent young people and focused exclusively on their sociotechnical entanglements with digital tools. Utilizing my background in Cultural Studies and Techno-Anthropology with my current assistant professorship position at the Centre for Sustainable and Digital Transformation, I am beginning to frame a pluriversal research direction that engages the following three pillars: 1) socially-vulnerable populations, 2) cosmotechnics (Hui, 2017, 2021), and 3) matters of care in more-than-human worlds (de la Bellacasa, 2017). Building a research direction with a pluriversal foundation, where "many worlds fit" (Escobar, 2018), allows for multiple cosmotechnics (i.e., mythologies and origin stories for the use of and interdependence with tools/the world) to be recognized and engaged with. As such, I am deeply interested in (co)developing PD-inspired design approaches that emerge from a space of mutual recognition between the previously mentioned three pillars. I am interested in the somewhat archaeological work of excavating and re-purposing/designing new relations between existing practices of socially-vulnerable populations and their own (group) technologically-mediated myths, as a means of supporting social visibility, and social participation. As these ideas are in their early stages, I strongly believe that participation in this specific DIS 2024 workshop will be greatly beneficial to further clarifying specific research goals, to forming new research bonds, and to potentially supporting other participants' endeavors. I would very much like to share design ideas for emergent relationalities between the three pillars mentioned earlier, and get inspiration from other people's HCI and participatory design-related work.

Ron Wakkary

Ron Wakkary is a Professor in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University in Canada. He is also a part-time Professor in Industrial Design, Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. Wakkary’s research investigates the changing nature of design in response to new understandings of human-technology relations, multispecies worlds, and posthumanism. He aims to reflexively create new design exemplars, theories, and methods to contribute generously and expansively to understanding ways of designing that are more accountable, equitable, and foster more-than-human cohabitation. Wakkary’s recent books include Things We Could Design for more than Human-Centered Worlds (MIT Press, 2021) and The Importance of Speculation in Design Research (Springer Nature, 2024).

For this workshop, I want to explore with others two concepts that emerge from this theory

that directly relate to the idea of methods for the pluriverse. These are:

• Constituencies: meaning the more-than-human gatherings that assemble and reassemble to desig things before they are designed;

• Repertoires: meaning actions the human designer can take to increase participation of nonhumans in designing and participating in constituencies.

The idea of gatherings is central to designing-with, especially in relation to shared agencies. The concept of constituency is also a gathering, a larger collective of humans and nonhumans from which designers of things come together to go on to design things and form biographies. It strongly relates to the idea of pluriverses. Constituencies precede the formation of the designer and the designing of things; in this sense it is like a studio or a collective for designing. It is an ongoing concern that is configured, reconfigured, and continually refiguring itself to serve as the larger gathering from which to design for more-than-human worlds. A kitchen is a good analogy for a constituency. It is where humans are gathered with nonhumans like food ingredients, cooking utensils, pots and pans, ovens, stoves, and recipes. Cultural and political commitments are made such as veganism, non-GMO, halal, ethnicity, history, and place. All this gathers or stands as a gathering before a cook cooks a meal or in designing things: before a designer designs a thing. The importance of this analogy is that it shows constituencies to be unique, embodied, and situated. There is no one way to gather a kitchen. In its formation it reveals both commitments, place, and history in negotiation with each other. It is in the gathering of the constituency that the values and politics are largely negotiated before a thing is being designed when it is largely too late. Repertoires refers to attunements and embodied actions that result in techniques to enable nonhuman participation in designing things. Given the principles of designing-with in which the designer is an assembly of humans and nonhumans, there is critical need to expand designing to include more-than-human participation. However, there are serious challenges to collaborating with that which is not human, not the least of which is to specify what collaboration and participation mean in this regard, but most of all there are the limits of our anthropocentric form that delimits our intellectual and embodied capacities to engage more-than-human worlds. As a starting point, I see designers seeking ways to transmogrify, to change oneself in and through designing with more-than-human others or taking seriously the porous nature of our own bodies that are largely comprised of “nonhuman” organisms and bacteria. This includes acting from a position of not-knowing and the humility that brings with it and to consider new embodied relations such as shifting to a literal and metaphorical horizontality, a move to equalize, act alongside nonhumans, and open our bodies to far more points of contact with the more-than-human world. In our research to date, we explored a range of possible repertoires in designing things that reveal the need to develop more repertoires but also repeated use and assessment for how to implement these into practice. Further, we need to understand the range of repertoire types to not only address different aspects of biographies but also the role of repertories in the convening and care of constituencies. This early work also raised questions on the importance of the different subjectivities of the human designer and speaking subject, in working at the border of our anthropocentric limits.