Nicenboim, I.

Iohanna Nicenboim is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering. Her PhD is funded by Microsoft Research Lab, and investigates human-AI interactions in the future everyday, by integrating more-than-human and speculative design.

Academic Background

Previously Iohanna did research on IoT at TU Delft, and on communities and prototyping at the Design Research Lab and the Hybrid Platform (UDK Berlin). She was also a UX manager at Bosch, researching DIY practices. As a designer, she created award-winning design fictions, highlighting the ethics of living with smart technologies. She is a ThingsCon Fellow, and a recipient of the Internet of Things Awards for Design Fiction in 2015/6.

Education

2019 ─ 2024
PhD candidate, TU Delft, funded by Microsoft Research Lab
2014 ─ 2015
MA on the Internet of Things, Digital Media Design, UDK Berlin
2006 ─ 2009
BA, Industrial Design, Bezalel Academy Jerusalem

Experience

2011-2016
Independent Interaction Designer
Moving around the fields of Critical and Speculative Design, Design Fiction, and Media Studies, I explore poetical interactions with technology and specifically data, in a near future. More information
2012-2017
Online teacher, Node Center for Curatorial Studies
Monthly online course on the planning and design of three-dimensional environments that encourage visitor’s understanding, participation, and emotional engagement. More information
2014-2015
Research Assistant, Rethinking Prototyping project, UDK Berlin
I worked at the Beyond Prototyping group as research assistant of Jussi Ängeslevä. In this project, we explored the possibilities of algorithmically defined products that can be easily manufactured using digital fabrication techniques. Among other tasks, I conducted a user study and co-wrote a chapter in the book Rethink! Prototyping, Transdisciplinary Concepts of Prototyping. More information
2014-2016
Teaching and curating, Design Research Lab, UDK Berlin
At the DRL, I taught a Methods Course for bachelor and Master students. I also co-curated the symposium “Open Cities”, which focused on meaningful tools and processes of self-empowerment in the context of cities today. Additionally, I curated and designed an exhibition for the “Community Now” project, discussing bottom-up movements of collaboration, self-organization and participation in the city. More information
2019
UX Manager at Bosch Digital Business Teams

Specialisation/field of research

Iohanna's current research focuses on human-AI partnerships. She investigates methods to study human-AI interactions through design, in order to inform fairness and interpretability in the design of AI. She combines traditional ethnographic methods with non-human approaches and future-oriented design techniques. Previews work looked at how to design connected interactions in emerging data ecosystems. As an interaction designer, Iohanna creates design fictions to provoke discussions around ethical and societal issues of living with emerging technology.