DesignTalks: Laura Devendorf

DESIGNING NOT KNOWING

Wir laden zusammen mit dem Lehramtsstudium Design und Technik zum Talk mit Laura Devendorf.

21. Juni 2022, 18.30 Uhr
Hauptplatz 8 / 1. Stock / Hörsaal

In her essay "making not knowing" artist Ann Hamilton describes the pursuit of art as one that is cultivated from practices of attention. I draw from this title to talk about how her description of "not knowing" can be a useful orientation towards design research. Specifically, I will argue that the position of not-knowing, humility, and non-expert is useful for critically reflecting on the relevance of design practices. I will present ways that myself, collaborators, and the students with whom I work have been using weaving (sometimes with circuits, some without) as a practice through which to try to probe, question, and understand what counts as design and the kinds of narratives we must take on in order to be "designers." I aim for this talk to inspire reflection and offer a few tactics for unknowing in order to think otherwise.

BIO:
Laura Devendorf, assistant professor of information science with the ATLAS Institute, is an artist and technologist working predominantly in human-computer interaction and design research. She designs and develops systems that embody alternative visions for human-machine relations within creative practice. Her recent work focuses on smart textiles—a project that interweaves the production of computational design tools with cultural reflections on gendered forms of labor and visions for how wearable technology could shape how we perceive lived environments. Laura directs the Unstable Design Lab. She earned bachelors' degrees in studio art and computer science from the University of California Santa Barbara before earning her PhD at UC Berkeley School of Information. She has worked in the fields of sustainable fashion, design and engineering. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, has been featured on National Public Radio, and has received multiple best paper awards at top conferences in the field of human-computer interaction.