NONHUMAN REQUIREMENTS
Design confronts anthropocentrism: The pursuit of the “inclusive” in (human)user-centered design and media
Disclaimer: A dialogue with the so-called nonhuman is a dialogue with death and the human condition.
In the last century, ergonomics stole the charm of the designer-diva and the sexy object-thing, and handed it to the “user.” Then, participatory and user-centered approaches further deprotagonized technology and the designer in design research and innovation processes. This slightly frustrated Henry Ford (“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”) Then, the psychosocial reality of humans and only our context of use became central parameters in the design process. What if that hadn’t happened? What if communication media and design processes were not as human-centered as they are today?