sketching in hardware 2021

Sketching in Hardware is an annual summit on the design and use of physical computing toolkits. Participants from a wide variety of disciplines and backgrounds will discuss tools for creating digital products, environments, and experiences: how to make them, why to make them (and why not), how to use them, how to teach with them, and how to understand their impact. The summit will be held online (see below for details).

In addition to the nonstop rolling waves of crises of 2020, one unforeseen result was that our expected mechanisms of response were insufficiently flexible. Every closely-held dogma fell when confronted with a continuously unexpected reality that undermined our myths of rational predictability and control. Every situation demanded rapid deployment of new tools, both conceptual and literal, physical and digital. We also had to abandon our assumptions around those original tools when they proved inadequate. Every day in 2020 demonstrated how interconnected our natural, technological, and social networks are. We can no longer pretend what we define as technology and what we define as natural can ever be wholly separate, or we can ever maintain clear separations between them.

2021 proved that many of our tools required rapid adaptation, and swift widespread adoption, and how the trajectory of either task is rarely what we expect from the outset. Sketching in Hardware is always, at its core, about the design of tools (hardware, software, and conceptual) and how the choices we make as tool designers affect our and others’ experiences as tool users--and vice versa. In 2021 we want to review what we learned from this whirlwind reconfiguration, and how we adapted from the tools we made in 2019, currently see the potential of our current tools, and look ahead at what the tools of 2021 and beyond can be.

Times are listed below for multiple time zones, be sure to double check on where you will be joining in from to plan accordingly. A more detailed schedule around speaker timeslots will be shared with attendees later. If you have any questions or need more clarification please feel free to contact us.

WELCOME

Oct 7th 2021 5:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Oct 7th 2021 7:00pm - 8:00pm CDT
Oct 7th 2021 8:00pm - 9:00pm EDT
Oct 8th 2021 12:00am - 1:00am GMT
Oct 8th 2021 9:00am - 10:00am JST

SESSION 1

Oct 8th 2021 9:00am - 6:00pm PDT
Oct 8th 2021 11:00am - 8:00pm CDT
Oct 8th 2021 12:00pm - 9:00pm EDT
Oct 8th 2021 4:00pm - 1:00am GMT
Oct 9th 2021 1:00am - 10:00pm JST

SESSION 2

Oct 9th 2021 9:00am - 6:00pm PDT
Oct 9th 2021 11:00am - 8:00pm CDT
Oct 9th 2021 12:00pm - 9:00pm EDT
Oct 9th 2021 4:00pm - 1:00am GMT
Oct 10th 2021 1:00am - 10:00pm JST

SESSION 3

Oct 10th 2021 9:00am - 6:00pm PDT
Oct 10th 2021 11:00am - 8:00pm CDT
Oct 10th 2021 12:00pm - 9:00pm EDT
Oct 10th 2021 4:00pm - 1:00am GMT
Oct 11th 2021 1:00am - 10:00pm JST

ThingM is a device studio. We design and manufacture ubiquitous computing / Internet of Things products that combine user experience design expertise with a deep knowledge of cutting-edge technologies. We create useful tools for designers and innovative products for everyone else.