Abstract

Nowadays, many different digital communication and information devices (DCIDs) exist, even though many have the same components and functions. They allow us to interact with each other and to entertain ourselves, thus we recognize them as necessary.

The consequences of this state of the art tend to affect users’ dependency and devices’ obsolescence on a physical, emotional and contextual layer. Indeed, DCIDs answer to functional, perceptive and economical expectations; however, they are not designed in order to have a long life because they are closed systems. Thus, average users keep for granted their obsolescence and they tend to look forward the next new model. This is because, during the whole life cycle of the device, the perception that people build up with and around DCIDs depends on users’ abilities and on the context where they use them. In most cases, only professionals of the field can appropriate them, but average users cannot.

There is a design opportunity in "designing for disassembling" in order to make functions perceptible and to provide an open system. In this way, DCID development will be integrated in units that adapt to the needs of people all the time, lowering the gap between technology, people/users and environment.