PhD Student in Design at the Politecnico di Milano, he’s affiliated to DensityDesign Lab where he started as Junior Research Assistant in 2019. He works at the intersection of data visualization, creative coding and communication design. He worked on interfaces for the curatorial and serendipitous exploration for digital archives of cultural heritage and is now focusing on the role of interfaces and the role of design in general in shaping awareness on how data is produced online by users. His teaching efforts are focused on teaching data visualization to students of various backgrounds, as well as creative coding as an expressive practice for designers. From 2017, he collaborates with the Digital Methods Initiative at the University of Amsterdam.

PhD Research Topic

Designing the presence of data in society. A frictional approach

At the intersection of ubiquitous technology in society, the amassing of personal data, and the responsibility of the design practice, a misalignment between big tech companies and the population becomes apparent. In this opaque system where value is created from data produced online (Hankey & Tuszynski, 2017), a rising concern among the population regards what kind of data is collected and for what purposes. “Is my phone listening to me?” is a peculiar question that probably we heard or asked ourselves (Kröger & Raschke, 2019), and synthesize these levels of opacity: an uncertainty about the hardware, the software, and the backed services. These doubts and behaviors reveal an underlying need to retake control of the digital traces we leave behind on digital platforms.

This misalignment – and how to act on it – is worth exploring: while design and technology are usually valued when efficient and smooth in enabling actions (Hallnäs & Redström, 2001) also when designing , efforts have been made instead in repositioning design as a critical practice to make commentary. The central research hypothesis is that “slowing down” design products that employ technology in their fruition could be a relevant, if little, part of the solution. In juxtaposition to efficiency in design, the term “friction” is hypothesized from the surfacing of this term in the design community.

Related projects

Publications

Conference Proceedings

Visualizing the genetic process of literary works link

Valentina Pallacci, Andrea Benedetti, Tommaso Elli, Michele Mauri. 2022.
In F. Ciracì, G. Miglietta, & C. Gatto (Eds.), Culture digitali. Intersezioni: Filosofia, arti, media. (pp. 179–184)

“Drawing with Code”: the Experience of Teaching Creative Coding as a Skill for Communication Designers full article

Andrea Benedetti, Tommaso Elli, Michele Mauri. 2020.
12th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies, 3478–3488