Designing social wearables for mediation of intimate relationships

Abstract

There are many benefits to mediating intimate relationships through technology, and an increasing number of ways of doing so. Among these, there is a growing interest in social wearables. But most of these devices are either bespoke one-off items or generalized and lack consideration for cultural context and needs of varied user groups. Overall, our understanding of the design criteria for these artifacts and potential implications of their newly-afforded multifaceted interactions is lagging far behind. My research aims to extend this knowledge by adopting multidisciplinary perspective and developing design guidelines with a focus on meaningful use of social wearables over time.