the benefits of this design philosophy: The environment remains malleable based on the whims of actors; the environment accepts multiple viewpoints without restriction; and the actors control their own behaviors. But the difficulty with this viewpoint is the extreme passivity it requires of the environment.
John A. McArthur • Digital Proxemics: How Technology Shapes the Ways We Move (Digital Formations Book 110)


By disobeying the digital design standards, we find room to explore new possibilities. We create surprise and we dive into the undiscovered. Refusing these guidelines, we design new spaces within which new narratives can occur, that people should take time to discover and understand. By doing so, we create a relationship with our welcomed visitors
... See moreDVTK • Positive Friction
What we build is defined and controlled by its unresolvable conflicts. In responsive design, it’s the text and image conundrum I showed earlier. In other, more grand arenas, there is capital versus labor, or collective control versus anarchic individualism. In technology, I believe it comes down to the power dynamics of convenience. To create conve... See more
Frank Chimero • Frank Chimero · The Web’s Grain
Above all, people need agency. They need to feel in control. Sometimes, that means designing for subversive behavior. I mean, isn't the most fun often had when you're breaking rules? But this is enormously difficult in software, where you must design almost everythingfrom scratch. Unlike life, you don't get a common repertoire of actions for free –... See more