Sustainability has never been more important for the HCI and design communities, yet the term often has vague and multiple meanings. Besides a narrow environmental meaning, several frameworks and conceptions highlight connections with social, economic, political, and cultural questions. In this talk, Sebastian will present ongoing work to make sense of and operationalise “sustainability” for technology designers and researchers. This work has resulted in a deck of 35 prompt cards with sustainability questions and a method to use the cards in a workshop setting. The design of the cards aims to capture sustainability at the same time as holistic and specific, assisting designers and researchers to reflect on the sustainability of their work, map which aspects of sustainability they consider relevant, and plan future research and design projects with sustainability in mind. The talk will ground the prompt questions in established sustainability frameworks, trace the cards’ iterative design process, give an overview of engagements using the cards, and outline future design directions.

https://www.sustainability.cards

Bio

Sebastian Prost works as an Innovation Fellow in Design and Co-Creation in the Centre for Digital Citizens at Northumbria University’s School of Design. He is an interdisciplinary researcher with a background in computer science, HCI, sociology, and participatory design. He has a firm interest in sustainability and in his work explores and critiques what role digital technology might or might not play in making our society more sustainable. He received his PhD in Digital Civics from Newcastle University, where explored the role of socio-digital infrastructures for sustainable and inclusive local food systems. Previously, he worked as a UX researcher in Austria on sustainable energy and transport solutions. Most recently, he is concerned with the sustainability of research relationships and outputs in participatory design.

Running Order

16.00 – Welcome by John Vines

16.10 – Talk by Sebastian Prost

16.40 – Q&A

17.00 – End

Limited seats at Inspace are available, please book tickets in advance.

* Please note that this webinar will be recorded *