be jointly designed to create a
rich environment that suits the
complexities and variety of life in
the home. In so doing, we hope to
articulate new design opportunities, as well as to encourage critical reflection on existing trends
and assumptions.
To demonstrate that this heterogeneous home framework
offers a fertile design space for
a wide variety of new objects
and environments, we created a
design sketchbook. In spirit, our
efforts are similar to work such
as Gaver and Martin’s workbook
of inspirational design proposals to explore the design space
of information appliances [ 11].
The sketches we developed are
not necessarily literal design
proposals, but rather are
intended to engage the reader
with ideas ranging from highly
speculative concepts to humorous suggestions to very simple
product ideas.
To generate the design
sketches, we engaged in a collaborative dialogue with each
[ 11] Gaver, W. and H.
Martin. “Alternatives:
Exploring Information
Appliances through
Conceptual Design
Proposals.” In the
Proceedings of CHI
2000, 209-216. New
York: ACM Press, 2000.
