Public Pixels is a research project that asks how critical design can help people to understand, navigate and imagine networked publics.

Digital screens, touch sensors, wireless networks, and other interfaces are bringing a new layer of communication to urban environments around the world. But as these technologies become a integral part of the fabric of the city, it is important to look at them through a critical lens. What kind of discourse will be promoted by these cities built of networked bits and atoms? Whose voices will be lost? What social interactions will be discouraged? Whose worlds will be pushed to the margins?

My research addresses these questions through critical design practice: I employ the tools, processes and strategies of communication design as a method of inquiry. My practice is focused on building experimental ‘micro-publics’ as a way to explore and reflect upon the current state of networked public spheres but also as a means to imagine and build alternatives.