Design archaeology: on the Smartwatch

Abstract

This research is designed to form a holistic understanding of the smartwatch as a contemporary product, as it has the potential to reveal the tangled dynamics between people and technology. This study attempts to understand present phenomena by benefiting from the past, creating and applying a design archaeological approach.

The research is conducted in two temporal axes and explores the connections, parallels and reoccurring patterns in the past and present by looking at the genealogy of the research object. Moreover, it aims to investigate the relationship between smartwatches and people and to explore the archaeological traces of the smartwatch to have a better understanding of the current phenomena related to it. By benefiting from the past and exploring the parallels and interactions between the past and the present, it provides a comprehensive analysis on the smartwatch and the relevant contemporary concepts.

The study implements various research methods such as focus group and autoethnography. It suggests new approaches in design and theorisation of smartwatches as well as new interpretations of the relations between technological objects and people. Additionally, it provides insights into digital culture.

The findings of the study vary from the connections between time discipline and information discipline to the elements for internalisation of using smartwatches and adopting self-discipline. Moreover, the parallels and reoccurrences between the smartwatch and its antecedents are identified. The quantified and qualified self, intimacy and gamified discipline are some of the concepts explored further in the research.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Betul Aybala Cakmakcioglu: orcid.org/0000-0003-1772-3646

ORCID for Seth Giddings: orcid.org/0000-0001-7323-9184

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