Hej - I’m Thomas Kaufmanas

I view technology as a design material – and I like to make things with it! 


I view design as a critical act of materializing complexity. With complexity I refer to the fact that our lives are more entangled than ever. Both in our communities as well as our relation to technology. 

Exploring this dynamic cannot be achieved with classic problem-solution structures. Instead, such entanglement demands a careful attention to our relational mode of being. Which is best achieved by acknowledging the multiple perspectives through making.

Design is an opportunity to search for better entanglements; by striving to highlight, question and ultimately reconfigure our relations in the world. Most importantly, I believe design does not always need to provide an answer or solution – but it can very much help in deepening our understanding and, as such, framing the question. 

I tend to operate in the realm between interaction- and industrial design – with a critical attitude. Through making I explore the opposing views or separate perspectives that reside in a context of design, driven by a desire to ask questions, rather than answer them.

I consider myself a critical interaction designer; I design through a critical approach to interaction and relations – both in terms of use, execution and materiality.











My process starts with asking ‘what ifʼ. From there, I find it important to define if an activity seeks to converge or diverge, to align expectations. I am grounded in a phenomenological approach to qualitative and participatory methods. My greatest strength lies in realization of design.
I have a highly technical approach to making which is supported by my capacity of spatial thinking to create plans and construction drawings. I have a great liking in creating things by hand and with machines and more importantly making (these) things interactive through physical computing and programming. I strictly see technology as a (technical) design material, and therefore strive to introduce hardware and code early on in the design process. As designing with technologies takes time and effort, I always work towards framing my skills and knowledge as a repertoire of possibilities. This is achieved with thorough documentation to log whatever I explore as a learned insight, a piece of example code - or both.

My approach to design and collaboration is characterized by playfulness and amusement; I am a firm believer in having fun to drive the design process (when appropriate), as this mode can quickly lead to unexpected and inspiring outcomes. This modus also often supports me in pitching and communicating ideas better by catching the attention of listeners. In my experience, playfulness can also help me pursue (and trust) ideas that may at first seem purposeless or even silly.