From-The-Wild: Towards Co-Designing For and From Nature

Here we present in-progress methodological research exploring how to co-design technology for nature-related experiences. To support increasingly situated and participatory practices in this space, we propose a turn towards co-designing from-the-wild, i.e. ideating during raw engagements that are radically situated in nature. Our approach extends existing in-the-wild practices by (1) enacting co-design in natural (rather than human-made) environments, and (2) avoiding techniques that privilege the designer's agenda over other stakeholders' and compromise the situated nature of ideation. Our contribution includes: (1) the proposal of co-designing from-the-wild as a response to the limitations of existing in-the-wild methods when designing for and from nature; and (2) early reflections from our hands-on engagement with said approach, which begin to surface exciting opportunities and constraints emerging in this methodological space. By sharing our work-in-progress with the HCI community, we hope to spark a conversation stimulating future co-design methods research in increasingly wilder directions.