Designing Technology for Positive Solitude

This paper discusses Life-Based Design methodology (LBD) within the context of designing technologies for reaching a state of solitude, i.e., the state where a person wishes to minimize her social contacts to get 'space' or 'freedom'. LBD is a multi-dimensional approach, which emphasises the importance of designing for life, i.e. understanding people's lives (forms of life and circumstances) to derive design ideas and to carry out concept design. In this article, we discuss solitude in relation to the emerging need of rethinking the realization of information society and the desire of 'disconnecting' ourselves from the hectic 24/7 online life. We follow the Life-Based Design process in developing a concept for solitude service, i.e., reaching a state of solitude supported by electronic gadgets.