Expressions: Towards a Design Practice of Slow Technology

As computer use increasingly influence everyday life, we need to complement our knowledge of the computer as a technology for creating fast and efficient tools, with other perspectives on information technology. We describe Slow Technology, technology aimed at promoting moments of reflection and mental rest. Taking the design programme of Slow Technology as our starting point, we have explored expressions of the acts of reading and writing information using computers in everyday life. A number of design examples including the Fan House, the Chest of Drawers, the Lamp Foot and the Fabric Door, have been created. The purpose with these examples has not been to create new information displays, interaction devices, artworks or products, but to create a basic collection of examples that can support systematic investigation of the aesthetics of computational technology as material for the design of everyday things. Experiences from the design and exhibition of these examples are presented as design leitmotifs for future work with Slow Technology