ABSTRACT
I first became interested in participatory design for aesthetic reasons. When we do participatory design, we collect and interpret firsthand accounts of the practice of work using methods that are not just anthropological but also artistic. We use drawing, photography, and other arts to convey information, and many noncognitive and expressive approaches to understand it. As an artist and anthropologist, I find this appealing. The more I work in this field, the more I discover just how powerful it is for the individuals who engage in participatory design from their various perspectives and disciplines, and how well it works to produce design concepts and requirements.
