From the abstract of the paper linked below:

While much effort in interactive system design is centered on the recognition and representation of precise contextual information, where ambiguity or missing information is considered disruptive, other work has sought to play with notions of contextual ambiguity as deliberate design strategies. In this paper, we build on the latter idea by intentionally removing contextual cues to explore the concept of de- and re-contextualization (de+re) for creating thought-provoking experiences through ‘contextual puzzles’. In particular, we introduce the interactive installation Hearsay, which presents readers’ comments (i.e., texts) on online news stories (i.e., context) as decontextualized items of information to be interpreted by the user. Our study suggests that this activity of recontextualization or “putting the puzzle back into place” captured the participants’ attention and engaged them in deep considerations of the presented information. Drawing on these findings and on further examples from the literature, we propose the princal of de+re as a Strong Concept in interaction design.

Related Links and Images

• Güldenpfennig, F., & Fitzpatrick, G. (2015). De+re: A Design Concept for Provoking Meaningful interactive Experiences. Long Paper presented at the proceedings of the International Conference of Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia (MUM 2015). ACM. PDF.