About: Abigail Durrant

I am currently working as a Senior Research Associate at Newcastle University, for a project entitled Social Inclusion in the Digital Economy (SiDE). In recent studies, I have broadly explored ‘cultural visiting’ as a form of engagement in the digital economy.

I am an Interaction Design researcher and practitioner. I have a longstanding fascination with human-computer interaction from perspectives that embrace ethics, socio-cultural values and issues of sustainability.

I have over 12 years professional experience working collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams to research and design interactive systems, across diverse domains.  My background in the arts and humanities has shaped my qualitative, practice-based approach. Graduating from Newcastle in 2000, I worked as a professional artist and ran an interaction design consultancy.  During further studies at the Royal College of Art and the University of Surrey (Microsoft Research European PhD Scholarship Programme), I gained specialist skills in the design of computer-related systems, along with an analytic mindset and a deep knowledge of critical approaches to HCI research.

My PhD research brought together Social Psychology and Interaction Design to consider the role of domestic, digital photo displays in shaping intergenerational family relationships. This research featured the exploration of experience-centred design methodologies, and the deployment and evaluation of novel designs.

I have extensive professional consultancy experience in industry, conducting ethnographic research for product and service innovation, for public and private sector clients.

Current research interests include: pervasive computing support to cultural visiting; and the role of Interaction Design practice as a form of inquiry in interdisciplinary research, to foster dialogue and understanding between stakeholders.

Publications

2012

In Dialogue: Methodological Insights on Doing HCI Research in Rwanda (2012) Samantha Merritt, Abigail Durrant, Stuart Reeves, David Kirk, Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), New York: ACM Press

Slow Technology: Critical Reflection and Future Directions (2012) William Odom, Richard Banks, Abigail Durrant, David Kirk, James Pierce, Proceedings of ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS ‘12), New York: ACM Press

2011

Automics: souvenir generating photoware for theme parks (2011) Abigail Durrant, Duncan Rowland, David Kirk, Steve Benford, Joel E. Fischer, Derek McAuley, Proceedings of the 2011 annual conference on Human factors in computing systems - CHI '11, p. 1767, New York, New York, USA: ACM Press, url

Creating an Outside Broadcast of a Marathon (2011) Martin Flintham, Stuart Reeves, Abigail Durrant, Digital Engagement: 2nd All Hands Meeting of the Digital Economy, Online, pdf

Envisioning the Digital Economy (2011) Robert Dingwall, Murray Goulden, Stuart Reeves, Abigail Durrant, Digital Engagement: 2nd All Hands Meeting of the Digital Economy, Online, pdf

Exploring a Digital Economy Design Space in Theme Parks (2011) Abigail Durrant, Michael Golembewski, David Kirk, Steve Benford, Duncan Rowland, Derek McAuley, Desire'11 Conference: Creativity and Innovation in Design, Clare J. Hooper, Jean-Bernard Martens, Panos Markopoulos (ed.), p. 273-284, New York: ACM

Pursuing Leisure: Reflections on Theme Park Visiting (2011) Abigail Durrant, David Kirk, Steve Benford, Tom Rodden, Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), p. 1-37, Springer Netherlands, url

Spomenik – Augmenting Memorials in the Wood (2011) David Kirk, Stuart Reeves, Abigail Durrant, Digital Engagement: The 2nd All Hands Meeting of the Digital Economy (DE2011), pdf

The secret life of teens: online versus offline photographic displays at home (2011) Abigail Durrant, David Frohlich, Abigail Sellen, David Uzzell, Visual Studies 26(2), p. 113-124, Routledge, url

2010

Automics: Assisted Mobile Authoring of Photostories as Souvenirs of a Day in the Park (2010) Duncan Rowland, Abigail Durrant, David Kirk, Joel Fischer, Steve Benford, Derek McCauley, Proceedings of the Digital Economy All Hands Conference, Online, pdf

2009

Home curation versus teenage photography: Photo displays in the family home (2009) Abigail Durrant, David Frohlich, Abigail Sellen, Evanthia Lyons, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 67(12), p. 1005-1023, url

Photo displays and intergenerational relationships in the family home (2009) Abigail Durrant, Alex S. Taylor, David Frohlich, Abigail Sellen, David Uzzell, p. 10-19, url

2008

Collocated social practices surrounding photos (2008) Siân E. Lindley, Abigail Durrant, David Kirk, Alex S. Taylor, Proceeding of the twenty-sixth annual CHI conference extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems - CHI '08, p. 3921, New York, New York, USA: ACM Press, url

Speculative devices for photo display (2008) Abigail Durrant, Alex S. Taylor, Stuart Taylor, Mike Molloy, Abigail Sellen, David Frohlich, Phil Gosset, Laurel Swan, Proceeding of the twenty-sixth annual CHI conference extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems - CHI '08, p. 2297, New York, New York, USA: ACM Press, url

2007

Designing domestic photographic experiences to support autobiographical memory (2007) Abigail Durrant, Proceedings of the 6th ACM SIGCHI conference on Creativity & cognition - C&C '07, p. 281, New York, New York, USA: ACM Press, url

Designing family photo displays (2007) Alex S Taylor, Laurel Swan, Abigail Durrant, ECSCW 2007(September), Liam J Bannon, Ina Wagner, Carl Gutwin, Richard H R Harper, Kjeld Schmidt (ed.), p. 79–98, Springer, pdf

Exploring design as a research activity (2007) Matthew R. Peters, Steven Haynes, David J. Saab, Helena Mentis, Abigail Durrant, CHI '07 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems - CHI '07, p. 2861, New York, New York, USA: ACM Press, url

Associated Projects

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  .NET Gadgeteer

  In collaboration with Microsoft Research, we are developing and using .NET Gadgeteer in our own research, as well as running workshops, and developing new modules.
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  Embodied Selves in Transition: Disabled Young

  The project will explore the embodied selves of disabled young people. Its focus will be on how they create meaning from and via their bodies; how the body plays a role in their engagement with the social and material world; and how embodiment is influ...
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  SiDE: Social Inclusion through the Digital Economy

  SiDE is an interdisciplinary research project aimed at realising the potential for digital technologies to transform the lives of people who are socially excluded. Poor health, disability, family breakdown, poverty and unemployment are just some of the...