Handle with care: Demanding care by design
Needy Objects, series, 2023
HELGA LARA Halldórsdóttir, PhD Candidate
Exhibited and presented at the 10th Nordic Design Research Society (Nordes) Conference 2023: This space INTENTIONALLY left [blank]: Exhibition and presentation (English)
Abstract
In today’s material driven society, we have more things than we can care for emotionally. The objects that make up our material everyday are simply not designed for emotional care and we miss out on establishing a significant relationship with them. Care is a fundamental human behaviour that can define the way humans and non-human objects interact. Humans are predisposed to project human emotions and beliefs onto any-thing to rationalise and process their surroundings. Because of this, care practises between consumer and product can support a lasting relationship between the two to explore an alternative material consumer existence. This PhD research creates and analyses artifacts that demand care by design to aid in meaningful interactions with the objects of our everyday. These objects demand our attention, and, in some cases, they demand our affection. This is achieved through the objects materiality and function by design to generate emotionally intelligent objects.