2024/03/14 by Adnan Marquez-Borbon · 1 voice
Computer Science · Business, Management and Accounting · Engineering · #Innovative Human-Technology Interaction #Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development #Design Education and Practice
paper · doi:10.1080/09298215.2024.2442352
openalex publication_date 2024/03/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15
Global ecological crises have prompted sustainability initiatives across various technological fields, including interaction design, HCI, and technology-mediated arts. However, current efforts have shown limited results. This paper proposes a more creative and radical approach based on resignification and repurposing. The study begins by contextualising the issue of electronic waste production and management resulting from our technological consumption patterns. It then explores the Mexican Tianguis (street market) as a model of circular economy and an interface for technological consumption. A comparative analysis of making cultures from both Western and Global South contexts follows, highlighting approaches to material reuse, re-appropriation, and improvisation as creative processes. The Mexican practice of Hechizo serves as a case study to illustrate how sociocultural and economic factors shape these creative activities. The paper concludes by suggesting how mainstream music and arts technology design practices can contribute to sustainability through repurposing approaches. It demonstrates that waste materials can be valuable resources for creative expression, that art can critique environmental issues, that resignifying waste requires both practical and artistic skills, and that this approach challenges conventional notions of value and consumption.