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going for jogging whenever she wanted to think of her work, as she could easily
write down notes while being mobile (c.f. “capturing momentary information”).
Usefulness, in this case, was derived from supporting her need for autonomy, being
able to combine physical exercise and progress in her work.
On one hand, this provides hints that the product's usefulness emerges in a pro-
cess of appropriation in certain contexts of use, and thus may not become evident
in early use and user tests involving minimal exposure to the product. On the other
hand, one could speculate that this context of use was most likely not anticipated
during the design of the iPhone. The question raised then is, how can we design for
contexts that we cannot anticipate? We believe iPhone's success here to be rooted
in what Taylor and Swan (2005) call designing for artful appropriation, i.e. designs
that are specific enough to address one single need, but flexible enough to enable
the artful appropriation in diverse contexts.
4.4.5.2
Designing for Daily Rituals
People love parts of their daily lives and the products that are associated with them.
Drinking a cup of coffee after waking up, listening to one's favorite songs while
driving home, drinking a glass of wine in the evening; these are some examples
of activities that become habituated and cherished. We found activities mediated
through the iPhone, like checking for new emails after waking up, or looking at a
daughter's photos several times during the day gradually becoming daily rituals that
people love to perform. But, how can we design for new daily rituals? How can we
identify the activities that people love in their daily lives if these are habituated and
perhaps not apparent to the individual? It is crucial to follow the appropriation of
products in participants' lives, but also to understand the impact of the forfeiture of
these products once these have been embedded in habituated activities.
4.4.5.3
Designing for the Self
People become attached to products that support a self-identity they desire to com-
municate in certain settings (Belk, 1988). The iPhone supported two needs in par-
ticipants' social experiences: self-expression and differentiation from others (e.g.
showing off to friends and colleagues), as well as a need for integration and feeling
part of a group.
Products and self-identity have been a major part of consumer behavior research,
but remain largely unexplored in HCI and design research. How can we understand
the social meanings that users communicate through the possession of products?
And how can we adapt our task-focused HCI methods to design for the more expe-
riential aspects of product use and ownership like the social meanings of products?
One example could be the work of Zimmerman (2009) who proposes techniques
for understanding and designing for the dynamics of self-identity where individuals
have to reinvent themselves in a new role.
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