Unstable Design Lab
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.
Experimental Weaving Talk Series
Wednesdays at 9AM Mountain Standard Time
Online, Fall 2024-Spring 2025
We curated the 24-25 talk series around the theme of “expanding experimentation” with the goal of turning attention to the broader cultural, personal, and contextual discourses present in experimental weaving. We will hear about art, design, and research practices that engage the body, examine regional weaving histories, reflect personal narratives, utilize computational design tools, intersect with bioastronautics, and otherwise explore relationships between craft and technology.
The experimental weaving talk series began in 2022 to engage different perspectives on what “experimentation” means to weavers across art, design, and technology practices. The talks are intended for the public and are all accessible online.
Unstable Design Lab News
Unstable Design Lab Projects
Unstable Design Lab Director
Unstable Design Lab Associated Researchers
Unstable Design Lab Alumni
Unstable Design Lab Publications
Iohanna Nicenboim, Elvin Karana, Holly McQuillan, Laura Devendorf, Yasuaki Kakehi, Fiona Bell, Chris Speed, Doenja Oogjes, Lining Yao, Marie Louise Juul Søndergaard, Karey Helms, Sonya Withers. 2025. “Regenerative Material Ecologies in HCI”. In: CHI EA '25: Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (Yokohama, Japan; April 26 - May 1, 2025).
Laura Devendorf, Deanna Gelosi, Steven Frost, Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez, Etta W Sandry, Lily M Gabriel, Mikhaila Friske, Sasha de Koninck, Shanel Wu. 2025. “Experimental Weaving at the Unstable Design Lab”. In: CHI EA '25: Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (Yokohama, Japan; April 26 - May 1, 2025).
Doenja Oogjes, Heidi Biggs, Audrey Desjardins, Nadia Campo Woytuk, Sylvia Janicki, Karey Helms, Kristina Andersen, Laura Devendorf, Marie Louise Juul Søndergaard, Li Jönsson. 2025. “How do design stories work? Exploring narrative forms of knowledge in HCI”. In: CHI EA '25: Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (Yokohama, Japan; April 26 - May 1, 2025).
Kaori Ueda, Bine Roth, Laura Devendorf, Kristina Andersen, Irene Posch. 2025. “Gathering Textiles at CHI: Convening a Meeting to Share, Make, and Speculate”. In: CHI EA '25: Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (Yokohama, Japan; April 26 - May 1, 2025).
Kristina Andersen, Bruna Goveia da Rocha, Laura Devendorf, Elvia Vasconcelos, Lee Jones, Irene Posch, Anuradha Venugopal Reddy, Aisling Kelliher, Verena Fuchsberger, Lone Koefoed Hansen, Etta Sandry. 2024. "Memoirs for the Future, Imaginations of the Past: Crafting Samplers for Intent and Commitment". In: DIS '24 Companion: Companion Publication of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference. (July 1, 2024).
Elizabeth Meiklejohn, Laura Devendorf, Irene Posch. "Design Bookkeeping: Making Practice Intelligible through a Managerial Lens". In: DIS '24: Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference. (July 1, 2024).
Kathryn Walters, Laura Devendorf, Karin Landahl. "Animated Linen: Using High-twist Hygromorphic Yarn to Produce Interactive Woven Textiles". In: DIS '24: Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference. (July 1, 2024).
Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez, Mirela Alistar, Laura Devendorf, and Michael L. Rivera. 2024. Desktop Biofibers Spinning: An Open-Source Machine for Exploring Biobased Fibers and Their Application Towards Sustainable Smart Textile Design. In: Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’24), (Honolulu, HI, May 11–16, 2024).
Shanel Wu, Xavier A Corr, Xi Gao, Sasha De Koninck, Robin Bowers, Laura Devendorf. "Loom Pedals: Retooling Jacquard Weaving for Improvisational Design Workflows". In: TEI '24: Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction. (February 11, 2024).
Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez, Lily M Gabriel, Mikhaila Friske, Shanel Wu, Sasha De Koninck, Laura Devendorf, and Mirela Alistar. 2023. "Designing Dissolving Wearables". In: Adjunct Proceedings of the 2023 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing & the 2023 ACM International Symposium on Wearable Computing (UbiComp/ISWC '23 Adjunct). (October 08, 2023).
Laura Devendorf, Kathryn Walters, Marianne Fairbanks, Etta Sandry, Emma R. Goodwill. 2023. “AdaCAD: Parametric Design as a New Form of Notation for Complex Weaving”. In: CHI '23: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Hamburg, Germany, April 23-28, 2023).
Clement Zheng, Bo Han, Xin Liu, Laura Devendorf, Hans Tan, and Ching Chiuan Yen. "Crafting Interactive Circuits on Glazed Ceramic Ware". In: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Hamburg, Germany, April 23-28, 2023).
Verena Fuchsberger, Dorothé Smit, Nathalia Campreguer França, Georg Regal, Stefanie Wuschitz, Barbara Huber, Joanna Kowolik, Laura Devendorf, Elisa Giaccardi, and Ambra Trotto. 2023. "Making Access: Increasing Inclusiveness in Making". In: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Extended Abstracts (Hamburg, Germany, April 23-28, 2023).
Jordan Wirfs-Brock, Maxene Graze, Laura Devendorf, Audrey Desjardins, Visda Goudarzi, Mikhaila Friske, and Brian C. Keegan. 2022. "Sketching Across the Senses: Exploring Sensory Translation as a Generative Practice for Designing Data Representations". In: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Extended Abstracts. (Hamburg, Germany, April 23-28, 2023).
Fiona Bell, Derrek Chow, Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez, Laura Devendorf, and Mirela Alistar. 2023. "Designing Interactions with Kombucha SCOBY". In: Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI '23) (Warsaw, Poland, February 26 - March 1, 2023). [Best Pictorial Award]
de Koninck, S., and Devendorf, L. (2022) Objects of Care, in Lockton, D., Lenzi, S., Hekkert, P., Oak, A., Sádaba, J., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2022: Bilbao, 25 June - 3 July, Bilbao, Spain. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2022.440 (June 25-July 3, 2022—Bilbao, Spain).
Laura Devendorf, Sasha De Koninck, and Etta Sandry. 2022. An Introduction to Weave Structure for HCI: A How-to and Reflection on Modes of Exchange. In Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’22), Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA. 629-642. https://doi.org/10.1145/3532106.3534567 (June 13-17, 2022—Virtual Event, Australia) [Best Pictorial Honorable Mention Award].
Eldy S. Lazaro Vasquez, Netta Ofer, Shanel Wu, Mary Etta West, Mirela Alistar and Laura Devendorf. 2022. Exploring Biofoam as a Material for Tangible Interaction. In Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’22), Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1525-1529. https://doi.org/10.1145/3532106.3533494 (June 13-17, 2022—Virtual Event, Australia).
Annika Muehlbradt, Gregory Whiting, Shaun Kane and Laura Devendorf. 2022. Knitting Access: Exploring Stateful Textiles with People with Disabilities. In Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’22), ACM, New York, NY, USA, 13 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3532106.3533551 .pdf (June 13-17, 2022, Virtual Event, Australia) [Best Paper Honorable Mention Award].
Maya Livio and Laura Devendorf. [2022]. “The Eco-Technical Interface: Attuning to the Instrumental.” In Proceedings of CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’22). (New Orleans, LA—April 30-May 5, 2022).
Janghee Cho, Laura Devendorf and Stephen Voida. 2021. From The Art of Reflection to The Art of Noticing: A Shifting View of Self-Tracking Technologies’ Role in Supporting Sustainable Food Practices. In Extended Abstracts of the 2021 Conference on Human Facttors in Computing Systems (CHI 2021). (Yokohama, Japan (virtual)–May 8-13, 2021). 7 pages. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411763.3451838.
Fiona Bell, Alice Hong, Andreea Danielescu, Aditi Maheshwari, Ben Greenspan, Hiroshi Ishii, Laura Devendorf, and Mirela Alistar. 2021. Self-deStaining Textiles: Designing Interactive Systems with Fabric, Stains and Light. (to appear) In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’21). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1–12. (Yokohama, Japan (virtual)–May 8-13, 2021).
Laura Devendorf, Kristina Andersen, and Aisling Kelliher. 2020. The Fundamental Uncertainties of Mothering: Finding Ways to Honor Endurance, Struggle, and Contradiction. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact. 27, 4, Article 26 (September 2020), 24 pages. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3397177
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]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3357236.3395442.
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).