Month: January 2010

Sugared Puppy-Dog Tails: Gender and Design

Published on Author Elizabeth F. Churchill

This is a draft of an article from interactions (ACM Press, Volume 17, Issue 2 (2010)). In this article, I discuss the ways in which assumptions about ‘users’ are built into products. Specifically, I address the issue of gender, illustrating with examples how assumptions about how men and women “normally” behave drive design decisions. I discuss why taking a critical and reflective approach and unpacking our assumptions may lead to better designs and be of business benefit. Continue reading Sugared Puppy-Dog Tails: Gender and Design →

Socializing at Cross Purposes

Published on Author Elizabeth F. Churchill

This is a draft of a column I wrote for the ACM’s interactions magazine. It can out in Volume 17 Issue 1, January + February 2010. The word ‘social’ is a tricky one: we all think we understand what it means but conversations around the design, uptake and adaptations of new, “social media” technologies reveal differences in how we think about this everyday word. Continue reading Socializing at Cross Purposes →