The role of the artist-designer
Bringing design to software
Design-oriented human-computer interaction
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Ambiguity as a resource for design
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
From perception to experience, from affordances to irresistibles
DPPI '03 Proceedings of the 2003 international conference on Designing pleasurable products and interfaces
Proceedings of the 4th decennial conference on Critical computing: between sense and sensibility
Research through design as a method for interaction design research in HCI
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Supple interfaces: designing and evaluating for richer human connections and experiences
CHI '07 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Easy doesn't do it: skill and expression in tangible aesthetics
Personal and Ubiquitous Computing
Designing for the self: making products that help people become the person they desire to be
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
An analysis and critique of Research through Design: towards a formalization of a research approach
Proceedings of the 8th ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems
Architectures of interaction: an architectural perspective on digital experience
Proceedings of the 6th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Extending Boundaries
Making spaces: how design workbooks work
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Quality control: a panel on the critique and criticism of design research
CHI '11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
CHI '12 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
The logic of annotated portfolios: communicating the value of 'research through design'
Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems Conference
Strong concepts: Intermediate-level knowledge in interaction design research
ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI)
Tactile perceptions of digital textiles: a design research approach
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Electric materialities and interactive technology
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Designing and theorizing co-located interactions
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Materials, materiality, and media
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Photo mementos: Designing digital media to represent ourselves at home
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
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In this essay, I explore several facets of research through design in order to contribute to discussions about how the approach should develop. The essay has three parts. In the first, I review two influential theories from the Philosophy of Science to help reflect on the nature of design theory, concluding that research through design is likely to produce theories that are provisional, contingent, and aspirational. In the second part, I discuss three possible interpretations for the diversity of approaches to research through design, and suggest that this variation need not be seen as a sign of inadequate standards or a lack of cumulative progress in the field, but may be natural for a generative endeavour. In the final section, I suggest that, rather than aiming to develop increasingly comprehensive theories of design, practice based research might better view theory as annotation of realised design examples, and particularly portfolios of related pieces. Overall, I suggest that the design research community should be wary of impulses towards convergence and standardisation, and instead take pride in its aptitude for exploring and speculating, particularising and diversifying, and - especially - its ability to manifest the results in the form of new, conceptually rich artefacts.