*Call for Contributions*

COOL2011

*Date: Monday 4th July 2011*

The aim of this workshop is to stimulate debate on, and increase knowledge
of, designing for cool. The workshop will aim to answer the following three
questions;


   - What is cool? How do artefacts become cool? What are its essential
   characteristics and what makes a product, or a behaviour around a product
   cool?
   - How can ordinary items be appropriated in 'cool ways?
   - How are we to design for appropriation in cool ways?

 The workshop is intended to open a debate about some key themes that are
specific to cool but also have an interesting meaning throughout the HCI
design space Discussion will include the extent to which an attribute can be
designed for, can be specified by characteristics that do not rely too much
on interpretation and to explore the most appropriate methods for design in
this space.

The workshop organisers are currently engaged in a project to design
technologies for teenagers and whereas Cool design is surely about a wide
range of products and applications.

*Participation*

Attendance at the workshop is open in two ways. Participants can prepare a
position paper or can attend with a piece of research or with a design
artefact that they want to share.

The workshop will begin with the laying out of opinions, biases and
preconceptions in an interactive ?fessup? session and then participants will
be given short bursts of time to share their contributions (whether
positions or solutions). Participants will then be placed into groups and,
in a competitive mode, each group will aim to characterise cool, to provide
a design rubric for cool and to be cool before bringing their ruminations
back to the table in the form of a cool design. A facilitator will then
bring the participants together and the workshop team will identify the key
aspects. A ?cool wall? (as seen in Top Gear?) will be used to untangle the
contributions from the participants.

Findings from the workshop will be published on the workshop website. It is
expected that a follow on workshop will be arranged for January 2012 which
will focus on bringing together the same group of people in an extended (two
day event).

For more information and to participate in this workshop please email Dr.
Janet Read <
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