Prototyping digital tools for collaborative design.

I’m a Full Professor of Interaction Design at Aarhus University. I explore the use and design of digital systems from a humanistic perspective. My research focuses on design processes, participatory design,  creativity, innovation, and tools that help people think and create in new ways.

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Activities related to the coronavirus pandemic

[March 20] During the coronavirus pandemic I will be focusing on a series of projects related to how we can respond to the immediate crisis, and how we can prepare for what comes after:

1) Study of virus simulators
We are conducting a study to understand how interactive simulations can communicate complex phenomena, such as the spread of the virus. The insights from the study may help us better communicate what is at stake during virus outbreaks, and we would very much appreciate your participation in the study:
Study about the coronavirus simulator

2) What can HCI and Interaction Design do to contribute in the COVID-19 crisis?
I have created a shared document to aggregate examples of what we as researchers and experts in HCI and Interaction Design can do to contribute in the immediate COVID-19 crisis and in the phases that follow. The document is very much a work in progress, so we invite you to contribute, revise, comment, and add further resources.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19_n2yjBZeAw8wIbi-aKhzs65cVKrWJEKx_KNfG4TOLM/edit?usp=sharing

Other current projects and activities

• Principal investigator of Digital Tools in Collaborative Creativity (CoCreate), funded by the Velux Foundations.
• Principal investigator of PLACED (Place- and Activity-Centric Digital Library Services), funded by JPI Urban Europe.
• Principal investigator of Creative Tools, funded by the Aarhus University Research Foundation.
• Member of the core research team in the project Experimenting, Experiencing, Reflecting, funded by the Carlsberg Foundation.
• Founder and Co-director of the Centre for Digital Creativity at Aarhus University.
• Member of The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters’ Young Academy and head of the Committee on Research Policy.

News and updates

• [April 2]: New piece out in ACM Interactions: Dalsgaard, P. 2020. “Human-Computer Interaction and Interaction Design versus COVID-19“. ACM Interactions. ACM.
• [Feb 20] Pre-print of our TOCHI article “How Interaction Designers Use Tools to Manage Ideas” now available [Download PDF].
• [Dec 20] New article in International Journal of Design: Biskjaer, M., Dalsgaard, P. & Halskov, K. (2019). “The Same, but Better: Understanding the Practice of Designing for Incremental Innovation in Web Design“. [Download PDF]
• [Dec 15] Article accepted for CHI 2020: Yoo, D.,Tabard, A., Dalsgaard, P., Ducros, A., Eriksson, E., Klokmose, C. N. & Serholt, S. 2020. Computational Alternatives Vignettes for Place- and Activity-Centered Digital Services for Public Libraries.
• [November 8] New book chapter out: Dalsgaard, P., Halskov, K. & Klokmose, C. (2019). A Study of a Digital Sticky Note Design Environment. Sticky Creativity: Post-it Note Cognition, Computers, and Design.

Talks and travels

• May 29-31: London, experiments at the Tate Exchange.
• April 20-23: Stockholm & Uppsala, PhD defense.
• Feb 28-Mar 02: London, idea archives and public knowledge institutions.

For prospective students

Students present design projects

I am currently accepting new Masters and PhD students, particularly in the topics of digital tools in creativity and innovation, participatory  design, design processes, and the combination of digital and physical components in Human-Computer Interaction. Please email me at dalsgaard[at]cavi.au.dk, sending a CV and a project outline, if you’re interested in supervision or mentoring, possibly in connection to one of our current projects.