All of the things: Engaging complex assemblages in communication design

Brian J. McNely, Nathaniel A. Rivers

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper, we compare sociocultural theories of communication and user experience design to scholarship from associative and new materialist approaches. We argue for a more expansive and symmetrical perspective on communication design-one that broadens the scope of potential actors that affect user experiences, and that more strongly considers their effects on communicative activities. We posit three ways in which this perspective may be operationalized: (a) accounting for the missing masses, (b) designing for flat ontologies and radical symmetry, and (c) designing for interagentivity. Finally, we offer an initial heuristic for deploying such approaches and discuss scenarios in which they may prove fruitful.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSIGDOC 2014 - Proceedings of the 32nd Annual International Conference on the Design of Communication
ISBN (Electronic)9781450331661
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 27 2014
Event32nd Annual International Conference on the Design of Communication, SIGDOC 2014 - Colorado Springs, United States
Duration: Sep 27 2014Sep 28 2014

Publication series

NameSIGDOC 2014 - Proceedings of the 32nd Annual International Conference on the Design of Communication

Conference

Conference32nd Annual International Conference on the Design of Communication, SIGDOC 2014
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityColorado Springs
Period9/27/149/28/14

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright 2014 ACM.

Keywords

  • Flat ontology
  • Interagentivity
  • New materialism
  • Symmetry
  • Usability
  • User experience

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Hardware and Architecture
  • Information Systems
  • Software

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