Designing for the collective survival

Design fiction game for the apocalyptic world


Call for papers

Welcome! Here you will find all relevant information on the workshop Designing for the collective survival: design fiction game for the apocalyptic world that we are organising at NordiCHI 2022 , which will be held in Aarhus, Denmark, between the 8th and 12th October 2022.


As various global crises increasing (environmental, poverty, population aging, wellbeing), we might be facing a future that is close to some apocalyptic visions. What role can design and HCI practitioners play in the far away future and what can we learn from that experience for today is something we need to explore. In this workshop, we want to create a design fiction based game which aims to explore the different ways how the more-than-human world will need to collaborate to be able to create livable conditions for all. Throughout the workshop, the participants will co-create a game that will envision an apocalyptic future and explore what role we could play in it. Through solving different apocalyptic scenarios, we want to explore the different skills and approaches designers might need to engage with to be able to contribute to the world. We hope this playful experience will help designers, HCI practitioners and researchers to reflect over their own current practices in relation to which future they are helping to co-create.


Expected outcome

A concrete outcome of the workshop is the first version of the game. As many of its elements will be created during the actual workshop, the participants will also become the authors of the game. Besides the authorship, we hope this experience will help us all together reflect over our current design and research practices in relation to which values we are currently building our world on and start the discussion on how to proceed further on to not save the world but rather enable people to learn living in the future ruins.


See the complete workshop proposal here.


How can I attend?

We invite designers, HCI practitioners and HCI researchers concerned about the collapse of society in the way we know it to explore with us the different ways how the more-than-human world will need to collaborate to be able to create livable conditions for all. Prospective participants are invited to submit a position paper with their vision of one of the key global crisis, where they will reflect over the question “If this will be our future, what will I do in it?” and describe how they envision one or multiple key global crisis and what they will do as (used to be?) designer or HCI practicioner as the crisis is taking place.

The contribution should follow the ACM SIGCHI Extended Abstract Format (maximum 4 pages) and be sent to katerina.cerna@ait.gu.se by 12th August. The papers will be selected based on their originality and possibility to inspire interesting scenarios. Upon acceptance, at least one of the authors must register for the workshop.

Important dates

  • 12th August 2022: 21st August Deadline extended! Submission of position papers;

  • 17th August 2022: Notification of acceptance

  • 3rd September Preliminary deadline for early-bird conference registration

  • 9th October 2022 Workshop @ NordiCHI in Aarhus


Organizers

  • Katka Katerina Cerna (University of Gothenburg, Sweden)

  • Vasiliki Mylonopoulu (University of Gothenburg, Sweden)

  • Marvin Landwehr (University of Siegen, Germany)

  • Minna Laurell Thorslund (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden)