Ethics & Social Responsibility
A deep appreciation for design theory and philosophy drives our research into what makes designers “tick.” We ask deep questions about how designers think and act, taking on a critical theory lens to explore dimensions of social and ethical responsibility in design practice. Our recent work is focused on how awareness of “dark patterns” of UX and the complexity of design activity might lead to a more ethically- and socially-responsible UX practice. [READ MORE]
UX Practice
Using a practice-led research approach, we seek to understand how UX practitioners remain competent over time, document the sources of knowledge and design methods they rely upon to do their work, and identify mechanisms that encourage the development of community. We do in situ observational work to understand physical dimensions of practice and also document designer interactions in meso-scale on social media. [READ MORE]
HCI, Design, & Studio Pedagogy
Building upon insights from UX practice and design education, we identify what educators can do to foster world-class UX educational experiences. We study design pedagogy and the development of design expertise in a broad sense, as well as understanding how UX designers form and sustain their identity over time within our innovative undergraduate UX Design major. [READ MORE]