Investigation / Design - Nicolas Nova

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Résumé :
The field of design goes far beyond merely designing objects : some projects involve investigation and the production of knowledge. In this essay, Nicolas Nova discusses the main approaches designers use to observe, analyze and present their findings. The approaches to "design research" that he describes here combine social science protocols and designers' tools : drawings, prototypes and interfaces. These approaches could provide inspiration and useful techniques for practicing designers as well as design educators and students.

Biographie:
Nicolas Nova is an associate professor at HEAD?Genève, where he teaches Anthropology of Digital Cultures, Ethnography and Design Research. He is also a co-founder of the Near Future Laboratory, a foresight and innovation agency involved in design fiction projects. Nova explores the uses and repurposing of technical objects in the digital world from a socio-anthropological perspective. He holds PhDs in the social sciences (University of Geneva) and computer science (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) and has served as visiting professor at the ArtCenter College of Design (Pasadena, California) and Politecnico di Milano. Nova is the author of Smartphones. Une enquête anthropologique (Métis presses, 2020), Beyond Design Ethnography : How Designers Practice Ethnographic Research (SHS Publishing, 2014), Futurs ? La panne des imaginaires technologiques (Les Moutons électriques, 2014).