There is a rise of digitally fabricated products based on users’ data. This approach is known as ultra-personalization and its goal is to create products that address the individual needs of people who will use or wear them. At the same time, this way of designing is associated with perceived risks from different stakeholders’ points of view. My research focuses on the development of tools and methods that facilitate the co-creation of such products between designers and co-designers, with the view to minimize the identified and actual risks of ultra-personalization. In this talk, I will share research insights that aim to inform the design of (digital and physical) tools for the co-design of ultra-personalized products, such as 1) sensitivities around body-related data, 2) product fit and feminist values, and 3) examples of designed tools and risk mitigation strategies.

Svetlana Mironcika is a doctoral candidate at Industrial Design at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Her interests are in designing and researching interactive and smart products and services that address and appeal to the human body and bodily skills. She was researching user experiences with pulse detection sensors (Philips Research) and smart toys for fine motor skills assessment (Amsterdam University of Applied Science). In her doctoral research, she explores ways of engaging future wearers in designing ultra-personalized products (safety shoes, protective workwear, and electric breast pumps)