Interaction design, heritage, and the self

Jayne Wallace, a reader in design at Northumbria University, reviews interaction design, heritage and the self. She terms heritage as a resource for interaction design that taps into local culture and the role that it can play for persons with dementia, but also what we are, in terms of heritage, ourselves. Heritage is more than the recollection or recognition of memories of football matches or references to the objects within this culture. It is about being part of something, an investment in a group or community where history and being part of an ongoing story mean more than the details of the present alone. It relates to the feeling of pride in the achievements of the club and shared disappointment with the failures, both historic and current. Heritage is a hugely valuable resource and one that is only partly exploited in design. It has interesting implications for interaction design, regarding how it can be more fully worked with to create meaningful references and connections for people in the pieces we make.