How do we as humans make sense of the world around us and exercise our agency to change things?

Mental models and perceptions are a few of the many intagible aspects of knowledge systems we live within.

I’m interested in exploring how these intagibilities can be made material, creating new understandings and imaginations.

This section contains my current explorations with tangible/ intangibles.

The tangible thinking workshop (collaboration project) and author’s own workshop (Master thesis) was presented at 8th Relating Systems Thinking and Design (RSD) Symposium, IIT Chicago, 2019. 

The original research work with metaphor cards was presented by the author at the 10th RSD Symposium, TU Delft, Netherlands, 2021

Systems dynamics of gentrification, my presentation at IIT Chicago. 2019 ︎ Link

Assisted in Tangible Thinking Workshop by Lockton et al. at IIT Chicago. 2019. ︎ Link

As a Designer

My ongoing thesis project works with metaphors to articulate experience-based understandings of the housing market, pointing to deeply embedded biases and assumptions. (below)

As a Research Assistant

Karianne Rygh is PhD Fellow at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO), conducting research on the design and use of tangible communication tools in the co-design of healthcare services.︎ About Karianne Rygh

My role : Production and coordination of tangible communication tools designed by Karianne Rygh as part of her doctoral thesis. In connection to this, I was invited to be part of planning and facilitating Tangible Thinking workshop by Lockton, et al. at RSD8, 2019 (below).



I contributed in workshop activities such as observation, active participation, documentation of interactions (of other participants), supported by data collection and post-workshop discussion and reflections.

Karianne with her tools during Research Futures Seminar at AHO

Session by John Fass, part of Tangible Thinking Workshop by Lockton et al. 8th Relating Systems Thinking Symposium at IIT Chicago. 2019.

As a Participant

Below: Lego Serious Play by Bridgette Engler Newbury and FutureGov game by Lucia Vesnic-Alujevic, at 3rd International Conference on Anticipation, 2019 ︎

Left: Tangible Thinking Workshop by Lockton et al at 8th Relating Systems Thinking Symposium at IIT Chicago. 2019  ︎

FutureGov game by Lucia Vesnic-Alujevic

Lego Serious Play by Bridgette Engler Newbury

Image credits in this series: Dan Lockton, Flavio Da Silva, Lucia Vesnic-Alujevic, Shivani Prakash