The hook

The hook is an artifact inspired by our studies of everyday design where it was observed that people in their everyday lives creatively and purposefully appropriate objects. Inspired by those findings, we aimed at creating artifacts that can serve as resources for everyday design practices by making objects that have clear functionality but open purpose. For instance, the hook's functionality is that it lights up in different colors depending on the orientation it is tilted. However, it is unclear what the goal of the artifact is... it is up to the people using it to creatively appropriate it.

The hook went through multiple design iterations in terms of materials and electronics. We are currently working on a new version where the bulb is made of bone china and the hook part is maple. This new iteration is in collaboration with the PMP lab at Emily Carr University, particularly working with Keith Doyle and Philip Robbins.











Project in collaboration with Ron Wakkary, Xiao Zhang, and Henry Lin from the EDS studio at SFU.

_ Zhang, X., Wakkary, R., Maestri, L., Desjardins, A. (2012).
Memory-storming: Externalizing and Sharing Designers' Personal Experiences, Proc DIS 2012, New York, ACM Press, pp 524-533.
_ Odom, W., Wakkary, R., Lim, Y.-k., Desjardins, A., Hengeveld, B., and Banks, R. (2016).
From Research Prototype to Research Product, In Proc CHI 2016, New York, ACM Press, (in press), 12 pages.