The value of things: cultural context in the design of digital materiality

Abstract

With the diffusion of computing in all areas of everyday life comes a need for re-thinking the design process in order to account for the changing meaning of digital technologies. This paper argues that there is a need to factor the cultural value that digital artifacts get assigned by users into the design process. Therefore a theoretical framework is developed that builds on phenomenology and Bourdieu's concept of habitus. Main objective is thereby to connect the individual experience with a cultural context and connect micro- and macro-perspective. This framework then builds the foundation for a model that accounts for the heterogeneity of values that artifacts get assigned.