“Dr. Smartphone”, “iklinik” “iPhone clinic”… These are some of the names of a new type of business that has appeared in the past ten years: smartphone repair stores represent the most visible element of this ecosystem, but similar practices can be seen in hackerspaces and repair cafés.
The services provided vary, focusing on the material elements of the handset or terminal, software issues, and, more importantly, on helping users domesticate their devices.
Drawing on results from an ethnographic study, this talk will focus on the practices of the repairers. How do these individuals help users of such technologies? What kind of user problems do they encounter? And what does it mean for the future of interaction design?
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Nicolas Nova
Nicolas Nova is an anthropologist, design researcher, and writer. With a multi-disciplinary background in social sciences, information technologies, design, and natural sciences, he divides his time between running international fieldwork projects, documenting new signals in the world, and making sense of them to inform and inspire design or strategy. Using ethnographic approaches, Nicolas investigates everyday cultures to tell stories and employs design techniques to explore the implications of new technologies as well as environmental change. Professor at the Geneva University of Arts and Design (HEAD–Genève, HES – SO), he is also co-founder of The Near Future Laboratory, a design fiction studio.
