Experiences in Designing Technologies for Honoring Deceased Loved Ones

This article describes and reflects on the processes of designing two devices, Timecard and Fenestra, that both aim to propose new ideas for creating technologies that support rituals of honoring deceased loved ones. The discussion provides insight into how their respective designs were crafted to provide a range of interactions and to interweave with domestic practices, artifacts, and spaces; the article also describes the projects' similar strategies to supporting relationships with the deceased. Reflections then are offered about the design of future technologies aimed at supporting the processes both of adapting to the loss of loved ones and of honoring their continued evolving place in the lives of the living after they are gone.