design anthropology

SHANNON MATTERN is a theorist and professor of media, design, architecture, and anthropology at the New School for Social Research in New York.

In this lively episode, Mattern asks: what metaphors, tools, and projects are needed to imagine ways of building and repairing our cities more collaboratively? She shares her expansive interests—from computation, interconnection, and urban intelligences to thinking with trees, writing as grafting, supporting public libraries, and redesigning the academy.

Mattern is the author of multiple books and essays. Her most recent book is A City Is Not A Computer: Other Urban Intelligences (Princeton 2021). She is also a contributing writer for Places, an online journal of architecture, urbanism, and landscape design. 

https://wordsinspace.net/
twitter @shannonmattern

Guest
Anna Haverinen is a Design Anthropologist and she holds a PhD in Digital Culture. She works at the intersection of design, technology, and business by providing strategic and qualitative insight into people, communities, and individuals. In her academic work, she has studied grief and death in online environments, and in the past years, she has worked with clients such as UPM, Suunto, Aarikka, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. Her favorite thing in the world is Fazer chocolate.

Hosts
Anna Fröblom is a great programmer, problem-solver, hobby photographer, lego enthusiast, and simply a nice person.
Esko Lahti is an engineer who now works in the company that got him into Clojure. Now, his party trick at meetups is to rapid-fire through an extensive list of parentheses jokes.

References

• Madjsberg, Christian & Rasmussen, Mikkel: The Moment of Clarity: Using the Human Sciences to Solve Your Toughest Business Problems
• Hasbrouck, Jay: Ethnographic Thinking: From Method to Mindset
• Tett, Gillian: Anthro‑Vision: How Anthropology Can Explain Business and Life

About Reaktor
Fork Pull Merge Push is a podcast created for developers by developers. It’s brought to you by Reaktor, a strategy, design, and technology company changing how the world works.

We at Reaktor are looking for exceptional talent and new friends. We have open positions in New York, Amsterdam, Helsinki, Lisbon, and more. Check them out and apply today!

Our Slack community is filled with talented designers and technologists, and that's where I first met Amélie Lamont. Amélie is a product designer in New York City who is one-third of the team behind Good for PoC, a directory of tech companies which are inclusive and safe for people of color.

Our conversation began with Amélie talking about the inspiration behind Good for PoC, and how the site has been received by the community. From there we talked about "Not a Black Chair", her account of discrimination, sexism and racism at Squarespace. We also discussed Amélie's past work as a certified health and wellness coach, and she shared what she does for self care, what attracts her to mentorship, and how she's pursuing her career goal of being a design anthropologist. I love that Amélie is so outspoken, so I hope her work inspires you to speak up as well!

• Amélie Lamont's Website
• Amélie Lamont on Twitter
• Amélie Lamont on Instagram

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When Dori Tunstall told me that the reason why we design is to make thoughts tangible, I had an idea I would be in for a fantastic interview. Dori is the associate professor of design anthropology at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Through her work, she shows how the processes and artefacts of design help define what it means to be human.

Our interview started off with a brief overview of the sphere of design anthropology, along with a tour of her professional career which has taken her all around the world. We also talked about the U.S. National Design Policy Initiative and on ways designers can get involved with influencing policy on a local level. Dori is doing some really fascinating and incredible work that's worth recognizing, so I'm honored to be able to share this talk with you. You'll want to take notes for this one!

• Dori Tunstall's column, "Un-Design"