I have a wide-range of experience researching and teaching in the following fields: interaction design, design anthropology, cultural anthropology, experience design.

CURRENT RESEARCH AREAS

Interaction design / Design anthropology:

  • experience design (research techniques, experience planning, experience briefing, experience roadmap)
  • ethnographic methods, analysis methods and tests, aimed at prototyping and producing digital interfaces
  • emergent and emotional design
  • sustainable design

Visual thinking

Mathetics and innovative learning theories and techniques

Future of publishing

 

RESEARCH PROJECTS

(2009-to date) FakePress - Rome (Italy)

I founded FakePress, a think-tank that aims at exploring the next steps in publishing practices and platforms, united with a research on the possibilities offered by location based technologies and by novel approaches to knowledge dissemination, communication and expression.

Projects developed:

  • Ubiquitous Anthropology: The Ubiquitous Anthropology project aims to surpass the limits of traditional ethnography by exploring new, plural forms of field research representation, taking advantage of innovative scenarios and technologies: location-based media, open-ended stories, and emerging narrative dynamics.
  • iSee, a mobile augmented reality application that allows to interact with the logos of the products found in shops and supermarkets: take a picture of any logo and get instant information on its manufacturer's social responsibility and environmental policies.
  • Toys++: an augmented-reality based toy. Toys++ is grounded on the concept that the actual activity of building tangible artifacts can speed up learning processes.
  • Conference Biofeedback: A set of electrodes worn by presenters. Attendants access a web interface where they can express real-time feedback on the speech. Presenters receive low voltage stimulations in case of negative feedback from the audience.
  • Atlas of visions, an interactive environment (a 35-meter wide projection composed of 8 collaborating servers and controlled by 4 multitouch surfaces) that is able to let people experience multiple views on the city they live in or that they’re visiting, and to research and investigate on the visions that architects, artists, institutions and, in general, other people have had on urban spaces, through projects, actions, competitions, events, works, performances, research, institutional or political actions.

More information here.

 

(2006) Gandhi Museum - New Delhi (India)

I collaborated to the creation of the Gandhi Museum (funded by MIT Media Lab and India Government), one of the world’s first digital multimedia museums. My role was to facilitate communication between the Indian Board and participating Italian companies. More information here.

 

(1999) Opera Malinowski – Rome (Italy)

I co-organized a theatrical performance written by Massimo Canevacci.

The main character was Malinowski, an anthropologist who conducted some classical studies on Trobriand's Islands. In his diary, Malinowski showed his profound crisis during the field research.

Opera Malinowski was conducted during the course of Cultural Anthropology at University of Rome and the students took part in the performance. The idea was that through this performance the students could learn better how many difficulties a field research brings. The students personally experienced the troubles and the joys of an anthropological research by getting immersed into a performance that reproduced the conditions of a field research. More information here.