Dr Sarah Elsie Baker
Research
Critical Design
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 equality.
My most recent research focuses on developing a queer feminist design methodology and I am currently writing a book entitled 'Designing Gender'.
Experience Design
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. I have found that the utilisation and subtle subversion of market devices can encourage wider engagement with art and design.
In the future, I am interested in exploring the boundaries and limits of this proposition.
Ethnographic Methods
I use, and have written about, feminist epistemology and ethnographic methods. I am interested in the ethics of the appropriation and utilise participatory approaches to design research. I am also concerned with developing ways of documenting multi-sensory experience, including taste and smell.
I am interested in the difficulties encountered in ethnographic research when language does not adequately define affective experience.
Domestic Space and Family Life
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.
Sustainability, Reuse and Craft
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.