Academic Papers
Liminal design: A conceptual framework and three-step approach for developing technology that delivers transcendence and deeper experiences
Liedgren J, Desmet PMA and Gaggioli A (2023)
As ubiquitous technology is increasingly mediating our relationships with the world and others, we argue that the sublime is struggling to find room in product design primarily aimed at commercial and transactional goals such as speed and efficiency. We suggest a new category of products to promote deeper and more meaningful experiences, specifically those offering liminality, transcendence, and personal transformation. This paper introduces a conceptual framework and three-step design approach looking at narrative participation in design through abstractions to promote, hold and deepen more complex emotions. We explore implications from a theoretical point of view and suggest product examples for how the model might be applied in practice.
Read the paper on Frontiers in Psychology
Citation: Liedgren J, Desmet PMA and Gaggioli A (2023) Liminal design: A conceptual framework and three-step approach for developing technology that delivers transcendence and deeper experiences. Front. Psychol. 14:1043170. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1043170
Articles & Case Studies
Welcome to the Liminal Economy: from more volume to more interesting
Corporate players are still just pumping more of the same old transactional water through the aquarium until the fish die. Perhaps all living things in their endeavors innately seek some form of growth. But traditional business metrics have run dry, and faced with the glaring un-sustainability of continued linear growth that commercial models demand, the largest of corporate players are still … continue reading
Case Study: On the narrative of liminality and remote presence
The project was called “Lucia.” It was not about adding more features to video conferencing tools like Zoom. It was a reinvention of how we approach and build technology for meaningful experiences. The tests worked. And in many cases, Lucia worked better than … continue reading
Sincerity, is it any fun? — a liminal design perspective.
There is a clear link between sincerity, liminality and the deep and meaningful experiences we seek to be fully alive. But not everyone is excited — the normalizing of insincerity is a force serving one interest: status quo. Commercial design work more than anything else is exposed to this paradox on the frontlines: we are asked to deliver something of meaning, often without really meaning it. As writers, thinkers and designers working with corporations whose ultimate goal is likely not much more than profit, we are still asked … continue reading
Liminal design and the corporate sublime
Liminal Design is the opposite of the transactional design — different tools, courage and client interactions are required. The beauty of Liminal Design is held gently by its intrinsic push towards deeper and more meaningful experiences. This sets it apart from efficient, ease-of-use and transactional design. For the liminal designer, this requires clarity about what that deeper meaning is. Whether this opportunity presents itself as an invitation to elevate … continue reading
On the Narrative of AI as fiction
Yes, we should stop thinking of human interactions as the ultimate state for AI. And no, “AI as tool” is not the only alternative. There is a third and very different door that is much less limiting for the real goal: our own explorations. I have spent the last few years looking closely at how we can design for presence, transformation, and more complex emotions. Our evolving relationship with intelligent technology is one of the most dynamic … continue reading
The case for Liminal Design
It is easy to assume that the beautiful messiness of desires, awe and transformation belong to worlds far away from the good folks that brought you smartphones, digital assistants, and Hello Kitty vibrator ads (matching flip-flops included!) in their versions of the internet. But the opposite is true — and also very much possible. We just need to be more explicit about what it means to be interesting and fully human. And then … continue reading
On money as narrative: When the real story of our goal is money, it’s too boring to tell.
What are companies for, really? The Business Roundtable representing 192 of Americas largest companies declared in August of 2019 that leaders should deliver value to “all stakeholders”, challenging the supremacy of “profits to shareholders” as the ultimate goal. The declaration came as delayed response to an earlier open letter by Larry Fink, CEO of a 6 trillion dollar fund, to his portfolio including Amazon, Facebook and Johnson & Johnson. He requested better articulation of … continue reading
On curation as narrative
The new Louvre Abu Dhabi is a masterclass in experience design, offering one true lesson: all stories are told for a reason. One might be excused for entering the new Louvre Abu Dhabi rather smugly, driven by a morbid curiosity wondering how this preposterous project can be anything but a $1.3 billion dollar ploy by Saudi elite using what they have — money — to buy cultural respect in the west. Welcome. Glad you came. This museum has the perfect exhibit to … continue reading
Speech: Hippocratic Oath for Storytellers
Do storytellers need an oath, like doctors, priests, soldiers and government officials? Or is our work not important enough? I write and direct films. I write about story and work with narrative structures as a tool. My work is not academic in nature; I am not that clever. I am like most of you — fighting in the trenches. The daily search for what makes a particular story work. What gives it meaning. Trying to squeeze blood out of a stone. It’s real work. Hats off to all of you who … continue reading