Thinkering

‘Thinkering’ is a term first described by Michael Ondaatje in his novel The English Patient that means “creating and understanding concepts in the mind while tinkering with the hands”¹. Thinkering is not a formalised design method, in that there are no publications or academic literature that specifically establish what the method is or is not in the context of interaction design – what we describe here in this guide is based on our own experience, research and design practices.

As you might have guessed, thinkering is a portmanteau of the words ‘thinking’ and ‘tinkering’, meaning just that – thinking through tinkering! When we tinker, our hands stay active and engaged with the materials in front of us, while the mind is allowed to wander, and these moments are when some of the richest and most exciting ideas can happen. We advocate for the value of thinkering as an exploratory ideation method regardless of skill level, as even the most experienced interaction designer can benefit from the kind of ‘playful’ freedom the method fosters.

Thinkering is most useful when developing a project concept that involves some form of technology. Open-source platforms such as Arduino², LittleBits³ and Makey Makey⁴ are recommended for those unfamiliar with electronics as they’re well supported, with thorough documentation available online.

While thinkering and physical prototyping are similar methods, a prototype might include technologies in later stages, whereas thinkering starts with technology and focuses on what these components might mean for a design project. This difference in approach enables us to see new possibilities when addressing a design problem.

Thinkering can be used at multiple stages of a design project, from initial ideation, resolving stubborn issues, reframing a project or simply exploring potential alternative features and interactions. Having a plan when thinkering can aid in resolving particular issues you might be experiencing with a project. You might just like to ‘play’ if you’re new to the method or exploring early ideas, although we do recommend setting yourself some constraints no matter what your thinkering goal is. Choose 1 or 2 different pieces of technology as a starting point and see where thinkering takes you!

Consider these points before thinkering:

• Interaction & movement – what styles suits your project?
• Inputs/outputs – what interactions connect to an input, and what is the resulting output? (e.g. A touch sensor triggering a red LED)
• Layering & structure – how will the project’s physical elements be structured? Think about breaking it down into layers and building it up, piece by piece.

Activity

Before you start

You’ll need to source your materials and decide on what technologies you’d like to work with when thinkering. We recommend referring back to our tips on the physical prototyping method as we give some suggestions on where you might source unique, cheap or potentially free materials from! As for technologies, we mentioned platforms such as Arduino², Makey Makey⁴ and LittleBits³ as good places to start – all are just as suitable and have various levels of entry in terms of technical ability so do some research and decide what works best for you on an as-needs basis. There are no electronics, soldering or programming experience needed to develop a simple project using these technologies – while these skills can come in handy, they are not essential and might be worthwhile pursuing further if you’d like to produce more advanced outcomes in the future.

If you do not have access to your own prototyping technologies, it is worthwhile asking your lecturer if you can borrow one! The interaction design discipline has access to a select number of Arduino kits, which contain all of the basic components essential to develop a simple project.

Activity steps

1. Select your materials and technologies.
2. Frame your explorations – this might be using a keyword, a specific goal or aim, the purpose of this ‘framing’ is to ensure that while you’re experimenting with different materials and technologies, the outcome relates back to your project.
   
   You might like to thinker to address a specific design issue, or simply to explore new opportunities. Whatever your goal, ensure that you come back to this before you finish thinkering, as reflecting on your explorations – make sure they’re actually contributing towards your project development in some way.
3. Thinker away! Remember that thinkering is not a linear process and you’ll move back and forth through different activities within the broader thinkering process. Here are some tips on where to start:
   • Build outwards from the technology – what can you do with it?
   • Start with familiar materials – this can be a great way to ease yourself into quite an exploratory process.
   • Combine and break apart things – this can help to familiarise yourself with the qualities of your materials.
   • Think about inputs and outputs – what interactions can be performed by someone? A button push? A motion sensor? A touch sensor? And what happens afterwards? Does an LED blink or a motor spin?
4. Thoroughly document your thinkering process – you might take photos along the way, make notes and sketches. We highly recommend developing a good documentation practice. Consider using Reflective Practice methods during and after thinkering as this provides a good structure for documentation and helping you to uncover insights that can benefit your projects.
5. Storage – will you keep prototypes to further develop later on? Can materials be repurposed for future thinkering or prototyping sessions? Developing good storage habits, much like documentation, will help you to work more efficiently and effectively.

Further reading

• Sundström, Petra, Alex Taylor, Katja Grufberg, Niklas Wirström, Jordi Solsona Belenguer, and Marcus Lundén. 2011. ‘Inspirational Bits: Towards a Shared Understanding of the Digital Material’. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1561–1570. CHI ’11. New York, NY, USA: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/1978942.1979170.

References

1. Ondaatje, Michael. 1993. The English Patient. Toronto : Vintage Books.
2. Arduino. n.d. ‘Arduino – Home’. Accessed 20 February 2020. https://www.arduino.cc/.
3. Sphero Inc. n.d. ‘LittleBits | Electronic Building Blocks for the 21st Century’. LittleBits. Accessed 20 February 2020. https://littlebits.com/.
4. Makey Makey LLC. n.d. ‘Makey Makey’. Makey Shop. Accessed 20 February 2020. https://makeymakey.com/.