Dynamic, Situated and Reciprocal: Unpacking Relationality in Interactive Technology Design and Deployment

Michaela Honauer, Danielle Wilde, Eva Hornecker, Birna van Riemsdijk

This article investigates relationality in the design and deployment of interactive technologies, focusing on interactive costuming in performing arts productions. We position relationality as a dynamic, situated, and reciprocal process, and explore how humans relate to and through technology. Our methodological approach follows a post-humanist perspective based on Mediation Theory and Entanglement HCI Theory. Through this framing, we re-evaluate the findings of prior research that is based on a systemic design research study of interactive costuming. To unpack the complex nature of human–technology entanglements, we conceptualize the Adaptability–Responsiveness–Agency (ARA) model to capture the core dynamics that underpin relationality. Based on our analysis, we propose that human–technology relationality can be viewed as driven by these dynamics and unfolding with their context-dependent interactions. We advocate for a relational approach to designing interactive technologies, as it encourages participatory engagement, ethical reflection, and attunement to interrelations.