Hesitating between Threads and Needles: An Inquiry into the Dimension of Touch in Design Experimentation

Main Article Content

Ana Maria Copetti Maccagnan
Guilherme Englert Corrêa Meyer

Abstract

Even though experimentation and its material aspect are linked to the practice of design, few texts approach the concept intertwined with a dimension of touch. Considering the uncertain and critical times in which we perceive ourselves as a society, we need practices different from those prevalent in interaction design fields, yet capable of touching other possible worlds. We trust that the act of slowing down enables us to cultivate a distinct sensitivity, hesitating in the construction of a ‘good common world’. This article investigates spaces of hesitation through touch-oriented experimentation and reports on one case of an experimental practice developed from the formation of an embroidery collective. The practice proposes a design performance more engaged with uncertainties, care, and subjectivities.

Article Details

How to Cite
Copetti Maccagnan, A. M., & Meyer, G. E. C. (2022). Hesitating between Threads and Needles: An Inquiry into the Dimension of Touch in Design Experimentation. Diseña, (20), Article.5. https://doi.org/10.7764/disena.20.Article.5 (Original work published January 31, 2022)
Section
Original articles
Author Biographies

Ana Maria Copetti Maccagnan, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Department of Design

BA and MA in Strategic Design, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos. Strategic designer and researcher. Her research addresses experimental practices and their material aspects regarding touch and care. She is co-author of ‘Relatos de práticas e a formação de um coletivo de experi­mentação em design estratégico’ (with G. E. C. Meyer, B. A. Lorenz, D. B. Gloeden, M. V. Batista, M. M. Lesnovski, and N. D. Figueiredo; in Proceedings of the III Design Culture Symposium: Scenarios, Speculation & Strategies). She has been acknowled­ged as Academic of the year (2018) by the Bornancini Award.

Guilherme Englert Corrêa Meyer, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Department of Design

BA in Graphic and Product Design, Santa Catarina State University. MA in Regional Develop­ment, Regional University of Blumenau. Ph.D. in Design, Pontifi­cal Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. Designer, educator, and researcher, he is associated with the Post Graduate Program in Design at Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos. He is also visi­ting professor at the Product Design MA program at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. Former visiting scholar at Georgia Tech. He has a background in Design, Anthropology, and Science and Technology Studies. His research includes thinking design in the Anthropocene and experimental practices of prototyping. Some of his latest publications include: ‘Vivendo no Antropo­ceno: o Design e a Arte lidando com os modos de uma Época Impossível’ (Estudos em Design, Vol. 28, Issue 2), and ‘Aprendi­zaje como prototipado: experimentación en la educación infantil’ (with C. Navarro; Inmaterial. Diseño, Arte y Sociedad, Vol. 5).

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