Designers routinely employ anthropological methods in their work, the most notable being ethnography. In this Lightning Session I will describe how designers’ skills can be used in the analysis of ethnographic data. Specifically, how being able to imagine new product ideas through sketching can be used to critically engage with themes surfacing in fieldwork.
I will draw from my recent design fieldwork in Nairobi, Kenya, where I examined the consumption and appropriation of technology by evangelical Christians. A portfolio of design ideas were produced during my six-weeks there. I will discuss how my abilities to quickly sketch and generate multiple ideas, helped me frame findings from my fieldwork in technological terms.
