Designing amidst uncertainty: drifting and byproducts in the intersection of anthropology and computer science

The project We:Design delves into the digital inequalities affecting young people in Vienna during their transition from education to employment. It not only investigates the barriers faced by youth in the job market but also collaborates with them to create an accessible and open-source job application mobile app. Employing a mixed-method approach, the project is an equal-footed collaboration between computer science and social and cultural anthropology. This paper explores the notion of ‘drifting’ within participatory research and how seemingly irrelevant data can inform the design process. By examining the We:Design case study, we discuss the importance of embracing interdisciplinary tensions and the unexpected insights that research and design ‘byproducts’ can inspire, thus advocating for a more inclusive, flexible, and open-ended approach to participatory design.