Co-creating with Theory and Data: Theory instrument design for understanding young people's energy consumption

This project is about shifting the role of theory and participation in design research methods, to address the fundamental relations between young people, their daily objects, and data. To do this, I have taken up young people’s energy consumption as an empirical topic, which I investigate through data physicalization and tangible tool design. By empowering participants become tinkerers in their own data worlds, intangible energy consumption becomes manipulable and experienceable in my four co-design projects. This PhD dissertation contributes a methodological approach for engaging people in making sense of big data that is ordinarily too abstract and decontextualized to affect meaningful behavior change.

In the landscape of the contemporary design world, designers are increasingly expected to work with big data obtained from quantitative research sources. The shift towards these modern approaches to co-design encompasses not only a more profound comprehension of data but also the cultivation of novel tools and skills that may adeptly incorporate individuals into the process of data generation. The current trend of utilizing co-design practices offers a significant chance to investigate new methods that connect participants and designers by incorporating theory and data.

One such approach, which I have taken, is data physicalization. This method enables participants’ visual, physical, or narrative expressions to transform abstract and invisible data into tangible data by shaping or using objects and materials, allowing for intriguing and unique interactions. These practices are essential in fields where abstract or invisible data can be challenging to interpret or engage with. I have employed this method to empower young people to understand their own energy consumption habits through this material data exploration.

In recent years, design research has increasingly adopted a philosophical lens, using anthropological, psychological, and sociological theories and approaches to closely examine human needs, lifestyles, and challenges. This perspective has extended to include individual emotions, unique attitudes, and subjective modes of expression. However, in the case of data visualization and data physicalization techniques—one of these forms of subjective expression—it is often observed that these theories and approaches are either overlooked or merely employed to interpret the outcomes of the technique rather than integrated throughout the process. By bringing data and theory into the physical realm from the beginning to the end, I enable a deeper connection with the material, promoting a more participatory and engaged interaction.

With their consistent support for new sustainability and renewable energy initiatives, the young generation plays a unique and active role in my research. Their open-minded approach and constant search for new methods are critical to the success of co-design or participatory design work. In my projects, I have observed that young people are capable of generating and analyzing their own data. To change their existing habits, or identify which of these habits have negative impacts and how to improve them, I have enabled my participants to collaboratively discover new data physicalization approaches that embed theory into the process, facilitating sensemaking and resulting in the creation of personalized theory instruments for awareness and change of habits.

I have focused on data physicalization practices based on seven anthropological and psychological theories and approaches, to help young people understand their energy consumption habits. This research builds on four projects co-designing ’Theory Instruments’, methods and objects that integrate theoretical perspectives with material interaction. The approach emphasizes creating physical instruments that elicit dialogue, reflection, and co-creation among stakeholders during the design process, facilitating a deeper understanding of both theoretical ideas and participants’ experiences. Collaborating with young participants, I developed four theory instruments: Gestalt and Affordance Posters, ANT Rings, Landscape Knits, and Lifeworld Tents, each drawing on different theories and approaches. For each project, I worked with distinct groups of young participants, such as master’s students, early-career professionals, teenagers, and young adults. These participants played a significant role in designing and refining some of these theory instruments. Through this process, they not only gained awareness of their own energy consumption habits but also contributed to creating their own data visualizations, data physicalizations, and data animations.

I documented these energy consumption experiences through written and drawn materials, physical objects, photographs, and videos. The visualizations and physicalizations we generated were analyzed through hand-drawn sketches and affinity diagramming methods, framed by the underlying theories of the projects and the reflections provided by the participants. After each project, I wrote a paper, resulting in a total of four publications. I then used the similarities and relationships between these publications to construct my dissertation as an anthology.

In this dissertation, after creating a journey map of the projects, I address three key contributions, each answering the following research questions:

Q1. How can data about Intangible energy consumption become manipulable and experienceable in co-design?

Q2. What role can theory play in data physicalization?

Q3. How can theory support designers in addressing the fundamental relations between young people, their daily objects, and data?

The first contribution is an elaboration of the agency and skillfulness of data. Data, through the objects and materials it represents, transcends mere representation to become something that can be manipulated and experienced. It transforms into a whole set of physicalized enactments, where the participant can effectively embody the once-invisible data, making it tangible and bringing it into a new dimension.

The second contribution is introducing the playfulness of theories into data physicalizations. Theories, from the very beginning of the co-design process, have shaped the data gathering practices. Their influence enriches participants’ outcomes and fosters the development of new data concepts. In this way, theories have made significant contributions to the design of theory instruments, playing a crucial role in the evolution of the project.

The third and final contribution is a shift in participation, enabling collaborative theorizing with these theory instruments to gain awareness and drive a change in habits. As participants engage with the instruments and are exposed to the underlying theories, they see even the most minor details about their energy consumption habits. This heightened awareness prompts them to question whether there are any areas where they could reduce excessive energy use, making the instruments highly effective in guiding behavior change and promoting sustainability.

I conclude the discussion of these critical contributions by presenting one recommendation at the end of each section, resulting in three recommendations. These suggestions aim to enhance the effectiveness of the theory instruments and methodologies discussed, ensuring they contribute meaningfully to awareness creation and habit transformation, offering a new approach for participatory design and tangible interaction design.