Designing for family phatic communication

Abstract

Changing patterns of domestic life mean that it is increasingly common for people to work away from home for extended periods. Communications technologies are arguably positioned to help repair ensuing emotional disconnects. We are exploring the use of technology to support re-engagement in the quotidian rituals of family life to foster emotional connectedness whilst away from home. Adopting a design research approach, we develop five sensibilities for productively critiquing and developing design proposals for such domestic technologies. These sensibilities, Temporality, Expression, Connectivity, Reciprocality and Perceivable Volume, are derived from a critical analysis of 68 extant designs, which we illustrate with six exemplars supporting differing levels of ritualistic behaviour. To demonstrate the critical utility of these sensibilities for design processes, we interrogate two early design sketches. We contribute further critical reflections on design research methods and the role of 'design critique' in technology development.