Dr Sarah Elsie Baker
Research
Design and Social Justice
I am interested in critical design in many of its forms (design activism, sustainable approaches, systems thinking and speculative design), particularly in relation to ethics, methodology, and social justice.
My most recent research focuses on wild methods and animism in design. I have recently published a book with Bloomsbury entitled 'Designing Gender: A Feminist Toolkit'.
Experience Design and Visual Communication
My design practice is focused on creating public art/interactive experiences that use and draw attention to the nuances of everyday experience and the conventions of consumerism.
My most recent collaborative project, 'Behind Open Doors' repurposes user experience design methodologies to encourage intimate reflections about gender and sexuality that emphasise complexity and contradiction.
Design Strategy and User Experience Design
Participatory Methods
I am interested in design strategy and expanding notions of user experience design, particularly in terms of situated design methods. I am interested in methods that really listen to the needs of clients and communities.
Recently I have been working on developing situated design methods and listening techniques for designers.
I use, and have written about, feminist epistemology, ethnographic and participatory methods. I am interested in the ethics of the appropriation and co-design. I am also concerned with developing ways of documenting multi-sensory experience, including taste and smell.
I have recently become interested in the intersections between Kaupapa Māori research and co-design.
Sustainability, Reuse and Craft
Domestic Space and Family Life
My research, including my project exploring the value of retro style, is concerned with the making and unmaking of value (both material and immaterial) and the reuse of things. This interest engages with debates about ethical consumption, sustainable design and craft practices.
Most narratives of design focus on classic pieces, famous designers, and industrial processes. I am interested in alternative histories of design focused on the creative and ingenious design practices of ordinary people.
I am interested in domestic cultures and my previous work has explored family relationships and ideas of home. I am fascinated by everyday experiences of time, homemaking and housework.
I am currently re-reading feminist works that explore the gendering of domestic practices and technologies. I am keen to work with designers to explore the potential for the creation of domestic technologies that distribute, rather than rationalise, domestic labour.