Democratizing digital design


Jessica Rajko

Imagine having a conversation with a bespectacled companion. You try desperately to look into their eyes, but all you can focus on is the third, unblinking eye that may or may not be recording you but is certainly watching everything. This was the feeling Google Glass evoked in many, and the main reason why it was unsuccessful.

In cases such as this, a creator’s instinct is to table the project and wait until people are ready for such a technology to become integrated into their lives. But Jessica Rajko, a collaborative feminist dancer, designer and assistant professor in the School of Film, Dance and Theatre, suggests an alternative.

“Rather than begrudgingly pushing society to be ready, I ask designers to critically consider the limits of their own designs,” she said.

In her ASU KEDtalk, she discusses the power of a diverse design team within digital technology, and the immense benefits that come with this multifaceted approach.

Rajko's talk is part of the ASU KEDtalks series. Short for Knowledge Enterprise Development talks, KEDtalks aim to spark ideas, indulge curiosity, and inspire action by highlighting ASU scientists, humanists, social scientists and artists who are driven to find solutions to the universe’s grandest challenges. Tune in to research.asu.edu/kedtalks to discover how the next educational revolution will come about, whether space is the next economic frontier and more.

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