October 2018

For years, the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community has been designing and deploying technology to improve human capabilities at the individual, group, organizational, and societal levels. However, design is not always what it seems to be.

If we consider design from a post-colonial lens, there is often a distinction between “designers” and “users.” What this has led to is a series of issues with the design of technical systems, such that they do not consider the inclusion of multiple, diverse voices.

In this talk, I describe recent developments in the HCI community centered on critical design thinking, which is conceptualized as a form of bottom-up design that serves counter to formal design practice. Additionally, I’ll critique existing technological implementations and social structures in society.