Understanding and designing cool technologies for teenagers

Abstract

This paper describes how initial principles for the designs of an interactive application were informed from a study of 'coolness' with two different ages of teenagers. The study used drawings to examine how teenagers might design their environments and these were then analysed by the research team based on a set of characteristics of cool that were drawn from the literature. Results from the teenagers' drawings demonstrate some change in emphasis between the younger and older age groups and between the genders. A design space around innovation and rebellion is implicated in the findings.