"We've conquered dark": shedding light on empowerment in critical making

Abstract

We present a qualitative study based on interviews with makers engaging in a variety of critical making activities. As part of our attempt to understand what critical making is and can be, we are investigating what motivates makers, that is, seeking to understand the sorts of qualities that make making sufficiently attractive or valuable to warrant their participation. Whether making for themselves or to share with others, for fun or functionality, we found that empowerment, often defined in opposition to passive consumerism, was a recurrent theme in our interviews. We discuss the seemingly cyclical motivational and reward functions of maker empowerment in guiding and encouraging making activities, and consider the impact of a refined understanding of "critical making" as it can be leveraged and supported for future HCI research and design practice.