Design Activism in the HCI Classroom Sabrina Hauser Abstract School of Interactive Arts & In HCI, design activism has been practiced but has not Technology been well articulated or discussed. There are examples Simon Fraser University of activism in the HCI classroom, opening a new avenue Surrey, British Columbia, Canada of discussion and investigation for the role of [email protected] design activism in HCI. We present two case studies that show design activism in the classroom as examples Audrey Desjardins from which to learn. We highlight themes and School of Interactive Arts & observations to encourage future articulation and Technology practice of design activism in HCI and HCI education. Simon Fraser University Surrey, British Columbia, Canada Author Keywords [email protected] Design Activism; Sustainability; Classroom; Education; Sustainable HCI. Ron Wakkary School of Interactive Arts & ACM Classification Keywords Technology H.5.m. Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., Simon Fraser University HCI): Miscellaneous. Surrey, British Columbia, Canada [email protected] Introduction Design activism has a recognized role in design disciplines such as graphic design, sustainable design and architecture. Yet, it has less prominence within HCI. Although, design activism has been present in HCI work, it has not been articulated as such. For instance, sustainable HCI [3] and Sustainable Interaction Design (SID) [1] are well-known research areas in HCI that involve design activism. Researchers have been using terms such as ‘provocative design’ [12], and ‘persuasive design’ or ‘persuasive technology’ [3, 6] to describe design research or projects that aim to . “It makes a contentious claim for change (it calls provoke mainly environmental change, but also for change) based on that problem or issue. institutional or social change. Hourcade et al. have . “It works on behalf of a neglected, excluded or been publishing work on ‘HCI for Peace’ [e.g. 9, 10] disadvantaged group. fostering research for promoting peace and preventing . “It disrupts routine practices, or systems of war. Kuznetsov et al. [11] introduce an activist strategy authority, which gives it the characteristic of called ‘citizen science’ to engage the public in gathering being” [16, p.6]. and visualizing data through balloons with attached air quality sensors. Recently, DiSalvo [2] introduced the Thorpe surveys and discusses many design examples concept of ‘Adversarial Design’ as a practice using using the above criteria and discusses questions that design to provoke political beliefs and values. We claim come up in her analysis. She concludes that “almost that activism plays a key role in HCI design practices, any instance of design activism has to work as yet there is a lack of discussion on these implications activism, and something else, at the same time” within our community. implying that in addition to activist content there are other contents involved, referring to “more traditional Moreover, we found the theme of activism in design criteria such as function, aesthetic, cost, or educational discussions within HCI [5, 13, 15, 16]. We usability” [17, p.8]. Moreover, Thorpe uses Rinku Sen’s see promising relations between design activism and [14] five categories of ‘change works’ to show that the HCI classroom activities and argue it is a design activism work can be of different types such as: worthwhile avenue to pursue. In this paper, we present community organizing, service provision, advocacy, two case studies of design activism in the classroom. mobilization, and solidarity. Exploring what we can learn from them, we suggest contributing approaches for HCI and HCI education. Fuad-Luke defines design activism as “design thinking, imagination and practice applied knowingly or Design Activism unknowingly to create a counter-narrative aimed at There are two main approaches of defining design generating and balancing positive social, institutional, activism. Thorpe [17] provides an overview of various environmental and/or economic change” [8, p.27]. He prior activist approaches in design and conventional also believes design activism is closely connected to activism, aiming to articulate a definition of design collaborative work (co-design). In order to motivate, activism. Her goal is to give designers a better idea of activate or transform people, we can include them into the role of activism in design. She presents four criteria the design process through “participatory design, meta- to classify design as activism: design, social design and other design approaches that encourage participation” [8, p.147]. Moreover, . “It publicly reveals or frames a problem or designers, like all other activists, need to construct challenging issue. their own identity as change agents. “[B]eing an activist is part of a personal developmental and life journey to realize a state of being, as well as a desire These principles and goals relate to some aspects of to contribute to a greater societal good” [8, p.20]. This activism presented earlier and this research is an implies that design activism demands designers to indication that activism and similar principles are part learn, reflect and take on a certain position. of ongoing discussions about how to teach interaction design and HCI. More importantly, this demonstrates Innovation in the HCI classroom that thoughtful teaching allows for reflection and In the past few years, researchers and educators have experimentation, two qualities that can lead to reflected on the way we teach interaction design and activism. A relationship with a real community is also HCI to students. For example, they have looked at the one of the central aspects that are being discussed in linkage between design education and experiential more recent approaches to teaching HCI. Sas [15] learning, which encourages hands-on projects and reveals that for learning to be long lasting it needs to engagement with real world situations and problems. take place in an authentic context that places the Obrenovic [13] argues that design has always been student in a real life situation. Shneiderman et al. [16] taught as an experiential learning course and that it advocate for in class projects that “Relate-Create- can be looked at through the perspective of the Donate” (p.42) meaning that students choose a cause ‘reflective practice’ model developed by Donald Schön, they relate to, create a project for it, and then give which focuses on the reflective and cyclical back to the community. characteristics of the design process. He proposes to treat HCI and interaction design as design disciplines Current research about the HCI and interaction design Figure 1. Body Mapping painting: a portfolio representing the growth of a and to apply this model of teaching. Additionally, he classroom invites hands-on activities, real context student throughout the semester. articulates different goals based on experiential projects, reflection, and unexpected experiences. These learning principles elevating how we teach interaction guidelines seem to be directly aligned with design; three of them are: prerequisites for design activism. We acknowledge that educational research has already evaluated the benefits . Create personally meaningful context for students; of hands-on projects and ethically and politically . Prepare some structure to orient reflection; engaged learning (for example, see Freire [7]). Create complex learning structures that can lead to However, we believe that we need to specifically unexpected experiences. discuss the role of design activism in HCI and interaction design education. Dukes and Kock [5] present an interaction design course with teens in New York City. They report that Two Case Studies the main goals of the class were to instill creative In this section we present two case studies of senior habits, push students to “think and behave with undergraduate courses as a way to investigate the role empathy”, and to “understand storytelling and of design activism in the classroom. Both courses presentation” [5, p.47]. attempt to use design activism as an approach to teaching. These studies will substantiate our exploration of what we can learn about design activism ACTIVELY REFINE YOUR IDENTITY in the classroom for HCI education and moreover, In Change Lab, students are encouraged to explore inform our first reflections on the role of design their own identities as future change agents. The course activism in HCI. starts off with a two-day retreat followed by weekly classes of four hours, which include a student- Change Lab organized potluck. Activities like the retreat and the The first case study explores an interdisciplinary senior potlucks support the building of a strong presence of undergraduate, experiential, and mostly student- community-sense among the students, making them directed class that aims to support students in feel safe and not being judged. Additionally, the becoming change agents and creating sustainable student-led character of Change Lab empowers solutions on campus. Undergraduate students from all students to be active and engaged participants. For faculties were invited to apply for enrolling in the example, we observed several students integrating second attempt of Change Lab [4] in fall 2012 and themselves more and more into class discussions spring 2013. The pilot study of the course was realized throughout the course. Furthermore, various workshops in fall 2011 and spring 2012. The course is offered by and tasks in class