The Perfect Fit
In my new book, The Perfect Fit: Creative Work in the Global Shoe Industry (University of Chicago Press, 2022) I study the work of repair and maintenance necessary…
Tag: Design
Is it Going to Be Okay? / Est-ce que ça va aller?
Introduction This is is a multilingual comic that serves as a meditation on the infrastructures of COVID-19, care, and time. In the spirit of the multilingual spaces I…
If I Could Talk to the Algorithm
In the film Doctor Dolittle (1967), the title character yearns to “Talk to the Animals,” as the song goes, to understand their mysterious and often vexing ways. It…
Uncovering Ethnography in Creative Practice Research with Machines
A live performance of Oliver Bown’s Zamyatin system with clarinetist François Houle This blog post comes out of a discussion with Ritwik Banerji about the ‘hidden’ role of…
Resume
Sydney Yeager INSIGHT · STRATEGY · INNOVATION Innovation powered by empathic insights and data-driven decision-making. As a digital anthropologist, I synergize qualitative and quantita…
Powerpoint Karaoke, a Ph.D. Version
This browser does not support HTML5 audio Listen to an audio recording of this post read by Zhou Zhou “You win the lottery! You are a millionaire! You…
Urban Acupuncture Design Theory: Researching New Development Practices in South Africa
Sometimes it only takes a “spark,” a “simple, focused intervention,” a “single stroke of genius,” or “the single prick of a needle” to release the flows and create…
How to Build a Sandwich
A degree in sociocultural anthropology may not be the most obvious background for a food stylist, yet it was a love for hands-on, detailed fieldwork that led me…
Smartphones “In-Between” or: What Do Smartphones Have in Common With Doors?*
Suzana Jovicic Credits: Thomas Sobottka It is Friday night in a youth centre on the outskirts of Vienna; the lights are dim, and loud local Rap music is…
“Doing Being a Latina,” or Performing Identities Through a Computer Voice
The ability to communicate is often taken-for-granted and imperceptible, despite being vital to everyday life. It defines our social performances as family members, professionals, and neighbors. Moreo…
Waschbeton 15
Eigentlich ein perfektes Haus. O.W. Ungers, der ein Haus ohne Eigenschaften bauen wollte und dabei scheiterte, hätte hier sein Vorbild gefunden. (Foto: genova 2020)
Waschbeton 13
(Foto: genova 2020)
Waschbeton 10
Ein Schokokuss aus Waschbeton. Danke dafür. (Foto: genova 2019)
Waschbeton 9
(Foto: genova 2018)
Architecture as a Justice-Accessing Technology in Postwar Guatemala
Forest analysis of scorched earth. Courtesy of Daniele Profeta. Princeton University, 2015. On an early January morning in 2015 a group of lawyers from the Guatemalan NGO Mujeres…
Obertauern: Wie konnte das passieren?
Ein Besuch im österreichischen Wintersportort Obertauern (Salzburger Land, glaube ich) im Sommer ist ein interessanter Ausflug in die ästhetische Katastrophe. Der fehlende Schnee deckt die Katastrophe…
Alltag in Ostdeutschland
Ein Dorfzentrum in der Altmark: Keine Neuigkeiten, keine Amtsinformationen, vermutlich auch kein Internet, aber immerhin kann man Briefe verschicken (zumindest einwerfen). Ein weiteres Plus: Es gibt n…
Dark Patterns, or Shades of Grey?
Screen Time app. Credit: Apple Press Kit Auto-playing videos. Bottomless social media newsfeeds. Accentuated “I consent” buttons. The internet may appear as a Choose Your Own Adventure, but…
Video Games, Mental Health, and the Complicated Nature of Playing
Young man plays Fortnite at a gaming competition CC BY-SA 4.0 He melted into the shadows, pressing the ‘E’ key on his keyboard, activating his stealth skill, allowing…
Critical Imagination at the Intersection of STS Pedagogy and Research
*This post was co-authored by Emily York and Shannon Conley* In 2017, we established the STS Futures Lab—a space to critically interrogate plausible sociotechnical futures and to develop…
Closing Keynote: Amplify. Not Optimize.
In the closing keynote of @designopssummit, @daveixd shares his perspectives on the evolution of DesignOps, and the role we all need to play in amplifying the right things…
Learning over Outcomes
In this @designopssummit presentation, @heyBFal shares some of the ways that Google uses principles from Montessori to encourage a learning culture.
Leading Through Change
In this @designopssummit presentation, @purvidesign shares some of her learnings from driving centralization of and lasting change for design at Visa.
Design is Not the Frosting on the Scaled Agile Layer Cake
In this @designopssummit presentation, @erinhauber shows us how she made the most of her org’s transition to SAFe, carving out room for design in spite of it’s almost…