Inspiring the design of longer-lived electronics through an understanding of personal attachment

  • Authors:
  • Silke Gegenbauer;Elaine M. Huang

  • Affiliations:
  • University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland;University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems Conference
  • Year:
  • 2012

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Abstract

Research in sustainable HCI has repeatedly pointed to the need for encouraging longer use of technology as part of the solution for stemming the tide of e-waste. Ways of achieving this goal remain elusive, however. We build upon previous research that considers the role of personal attachment in object ownership, and how this attachment might be leveraged to encourage longer use. We conducted a personal inventories study with 17 households in Switzerland, and use the findings to support and expand Odom et al.'s framework of attachment categories. We subsequently provided this framework to 3 designers and asked them to design novel technologies that encourage attachment. This exercise shed light on how they drew insight and inspiration from the framework, and how they integrated it into their design processes and design thinking.