At the Unstable Design Lab we pursue combination projects that reflect our interest in designing and making textiles (some with integrated circuitry), community building and advocating for the arts within engineering practice. We create open-source tools and programs that support collaboration across arts and engineering. We use these tools and programs to make interactive objects that help us experience the everyday in new ways. The Unstable Design Lab is directed by Laura Devendorf. For inquiries, email unstabledesignlab@gmail.com, or sign up to our mailing list.
In the news
Lab Director
Laura Devendorf
Assistant Professor • Unstable Design Lab • SMART TEXTILES, HCI, DESIGN RESEARCH • INFORMATION SCIENCE
Associated Researchers
Caitlyn Carstens
Undergraduate Student
Information Science
Sasha de Koninck
PhD Student
Intermedia Art Writing and Performance
Mikhaila Friske
PhD Student
Information Science
Emma Goodwill
Undergraduate Student
Computer Science
Shanel Wu
PhD Student
ATLAS Institute
Alumni
Rachel Bork
BS Mech. Eng. '19 • Undergraduate Student
Mechanical Engineering
Andrea Chamorro
Undergraduate Student
Computer Science
Chad Di Lauro
Undergraduate Student • BS, Electrical & Computer Engineering '19
electrical and computer engineering
Ruth Hunsinger
BS, TAM–Technology, Arts and Media '19 • Undergraduate Student
ATLAS Institute
Jolie Klefeker
BS, TAM–Technology, Arts and Media '20 • Undergraduate Student
ATLAS Institute
Jennifer Mah
BS, TAM–Technology, Arts and Media '20 • Undergraduate Student
ATLAS Institute
Publications
- Mikhaila Friske, Jordan Wirfs-Brock, and Laura Devendorf. 2020. Entangling the Roles of Maker and Interpreter in Interpersonal Data Narratives: Explorations in Yarn and Sound. In Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’20). (Virtual–July 6-20, 2020). [Best Paper Honorable Mention Award].
- Laura Devendorf, Kristina Andersen, and Aisling Kelliher. 2020. Making Design Memoirs: Understanding and Honoring Difficult Experiences. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’20). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1–12. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376345 (Honolulu, Hawaii (virtual)–April 25-30, 2020) [Honorable Mention Award].
- Laura Devendorf, Katya Arquilla, Sandra Wirtanen, Allison Anderson, and Steven Frost. 2020. Craftspeople as Technical Collaborators: Lessons Learned through an Experimental Weaving Residency. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’20). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1–13. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376820 (Honolulu, Hawaii (virtual)–April 25-30, 2020) [Honorable Mention Award].
- Josephine Klefeker, Libi Striegl, and Laura Devendorf. 2020. What HCI Can Learn from ASMR: Becoming Enchanted with the Mundane. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’20). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1–12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376741(Honolulu, Hawaii (virtual)–April 25-30, 2020).
- Shanel Wu and Laura Devendorf. 2020. Unfabricate: Designing Smart Textiles for Disassembly. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’20). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1–14. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376227 (Honolulu, Hawaii (virtual)–April 25-30, 2020).
- Josephine Klefeker and Laura Devendorf. 2019. Envisioning Reflective and Relaxing Design with ASMR. In Companion Publication of the 2019 on Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2019 Companion (DIS '19 Companion). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 225-229. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3301019.3323903. (San Diego, CA, USA—June 23-28, 2019).
- Kristina Andersen, Andy Boucher, David Chatting, Audrey Desjardins, Laura Devendorf, William Gaver, Tom Jenkins, William Odom, James Pierce, and Anna Vallgårda. 2019. Doing Things with Research through Design: With What, with Whom, and Towards What Ends?. In Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '19). ACM, New York, NY, USA, Paper W13, 8 pages. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3290607.3299011 (Glagow, UK–May 4-9, 2019).
- Laura Devendorf, Kristina Andersen, Daniela K. Rosner, Ron Wakkary, and James Pierce. 2019. From HCI to HCI-Amusement: Strategies for Engaging what New Technology Makes Old. In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '19). ACM, New York, NY, USA, Paper 35, 12 pages. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300265 (Glagow, UK–May 4-9, 2019).
- Mikhaila Friske, Shanel Wu and Laura Devendorf. 2019. AdaCAD: Crafting Software For Smart Textiles Design. In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '19). ACM, New York, NY, USA, Paper 345, 13 pages. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300575 (Glagow, UK–May 4-9, 2019). [Best Paper Honorable Mention].
- Laura Devendorf and Chad Di Lauro. 2019. Adapting Double Weaving and Yarn Plying Techniques for Smart Textiles Applications. In Proceedings of the Thirteenth Conference on Tangible and Embodied/Embedded Interaction (TEI ’19), p. 77-85 https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3295625 (Tempe, Arizona, USA—March 17-20, 2019).
- Austin Toombs, Laura Devendorf, Patrick Shih, Elizabeth Kaziunas, David Nemer, Helena Mentis, and Laura Forlano. 2018. Sociotechnical Systems of Care. In Companion of the 2018 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW '18). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 479-485. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3272973.3273010 (Jersey City, NJ—Nov. 3-7, 2018).
- Kristina Andersen, Laura Devendorf, James Pierce, Ron Wakkary, and Daniela K. Rosner. 2018. Disruptive Improvisations: Making Use of Non-Deterministic Art Practices in HCI. In Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA, '18). ACM, New York, NY, USA, Paper W11, 8 pages. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3170427.3170630 (Montreal, Canada–April 21-26, 2018).
- Jen Liu, Daragh Byrne, Laura Devendorf. 2018. Design for Collaborative Survival: An Inquiry into Human-Fungi Relationships. In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '18). ACM, New York, NY, USA, Paper 40, 13 pages. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3173574.3173614 (Montreal, Canada–April 21-26, 2018).
- Josephine Klefeker and Laura Devendorf. 2018. String Figuring: A Story of Reflection, Material Inquiry, and a Novel Sensor. In Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA. '18). ACM, New York, NY, USA, Paper LBW086, 6 pages. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3170427.3188570 (Montreal, Canada–April 21-26, 2018).
- Laura Devendorf and Daniela K. Rosner. 2017. Beyond Hybrids: Metaphors and Margins in Design. In Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS '17). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 995-1000. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3064663.3064705 (Edinburgh, United Kingdom–June 10-14, 2017).