Pouches and Pivots: Revealing Unmaking in Tangible Interaction Design Research Journeys

Reflecting on a one-year design-research project, we examine design drifts by documenting and analyzing three distinct conceptual and technical shifts that took place. We extend the notion of drifting by framing through stages of unmaking and remaking —where unmaking involves reversals of progress and remaking incorporates these reversals into new research framings. While remaking has been discussed as emergence and reframing, we argue that unmaking during design research is often hidden yet equally significant. This pictorial presents a visual reflection on our artifact's development. We also characterize how a drift may form as a six-step process. We emphasize unmaking's contribution to drifting: it embodies reflection-in-action with materials and helps generate designerly knowledge for future research.