Brass Goggles and Lace: Personal Identity Through Creative Appropriation

BRASS GOGGLES AND LACE
PERSONAL IDENTITY THROUGH THE ACT OF CREATIVE APPROPRIATION
BINAEBI AKAH | DECEMBER 2009

HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION DESIGN
MASTER OF SCIENCE | INDIANA UNIVERSITY
Personal Identity through the Act of Creative Appropriation
DEDICATION
This is dedicated to the two persons who gave me the curiosity, talent, intelligence, and quirkiness
to pull off this project, my parents. I know that without their support and encouragement, I would
not have succeeded in completing my graduate degree.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
DR SHAOWEN BARDZELL – I thought I was a bit crazy to follow this idea about Steampunk, but you
assured me that the topic was valid and had a place in HCI. Thank you for advising me through this
thick design space.
ROBERT BEGLEY – You know that without our late night discussions about my capstone, I wouldn’t
have gotten nearly as far as I have. You keep the hamster wheel in my head spinning, and I thank
you for that.
CHAD CAMARA – You questioner, you. Thank you for pointing out intrinsic qualities about myself
that I never would have discerned on my own; you helped me find insights in my process to inform
the direction of this capstone.
LYNN DOMBROWSKI – I wouldn’t have gotten through graduate school without you. You taught me I
was a spatial learner. You’ve been my best friend, my best critic, and my best roommate. Thank you.
NATHANIEL HUSTED – Thank you for asking me about my definition of appropriation! You helped
me crystallize my thoughts and communicate them to others.
MATT SNYDER – You were the first to encourage me to do what I loved, and not what I thought was
sensible. Thanks to you, I have been able to explore Steampunk to my heart’s content, without guilt.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication ................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Table of Figures ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Why is Appropriation important?................................................................................................................................ 9
Why study Steampunk as a case study of Appropriation?............................................................................... 10
Approach and Methodology ..............................................................................................................................................12
Social Constructivism ......................................................................................................................................................12
Beliefs ....................................................................................................................................................................................13
Overview ..............................................................................................................................................................................13
Literature Review ..................................................................................................................................................................15
Identity ..................................................................................................................................................................................15
Everyday Definitions ..................................................................................................................................................16
Academic Definitions..................................................................................................................................................18
Working Definition of Identity ...............................................................................................................................19
Appropriation.....................................................................................................................................................................20
Everyday Definitions ..................................................................................................................................................20
Human-computer Interaction Definitions .........................................................................................................22
Working Definition of Appropriation ..................................................................................................................23
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Steampunk ...........................................................................................................................................................................24
Why look at the crafting aspects of Steampunk? ............................................................................................ 25
Exemplar Research ...............................................................................................................................................................26
Bodily Appropriation ......................................................................................................................................................26
Appropriation of the Everyday ...................................................................................................................................27
Appropriation, Steampunk-style ................................................................................................................................29
More to come ......................................................................................................................................................................31
User Research .........................................................................................................................................................................32
Design Research .....................................................................................................................................................................34
Card Sort Activity ..............................................................................................................................................................34
Affinity Diagram Activities ............................................................................................................................................35
Autoethnography ..............................................................................................................................................................37
Do-it-yourself.................................................................................................................................................................37
Cosplay .............................................................................................................................................................................38
Creative Aesthetic Modification .............................................................................................................................39
Conclusion and Future Work ............................................................................................................................................41
References ................................................................................................................................................................................42
Timeline .....................................................................................................................................................................................46
Appendix 1: Primary User Research Plan ...................................................................................................................48
Data points...........................................................................................................................................................................48
Privacy ...................................................................................................................................................................................48
Inclusion Criteria ..............................................................................................................................................................49
Research Plan .....................................................................................................................................................................49
Publicly Available Data Procedure .......................................................................................................................49
Human Subjects Data Procedure ...........................................................................................................................50
Interview Questions ........................................................................................................................................................50
Appendix 2: Sketchnotes ....................................................................................................................................................52
Appendix 3: Card Sorting Activity ..................................................................................................................................66
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TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Relationship between identity and appropriation ............................................................................... 10

Figure 2: Identity represents Self, but isn’t necessarily Self ................................................................................ 16
Figure 3: Visual representation of Personal Identity.............................................................................................. 20
Figure 4: Visual representation of Appropriation ...................................................................................................24
Figure 5: “So it goes” tattoo ...............................................................................................................................................26
Figure 6: Bukowski tattoo ..................................................................................................................................................27
Figure 7: Toilet paper roll wall art .................................................................................................................................27
Figure 8: Appropriating an office chair ........................................................................................................................28
Figure 9: Ran Hwang's Button/Push-pin art ..............................................................................................................28
Figure 10: “Time traveler cuff bracelet”.......................................................................................................................29
Figure 11: Steampunk USB drive ....................................................................................................................................30
Figure 12: Card sorting human subject data points ................................................................................................34
Figure 13: Initial academic affinity diagram ..............................................................................................................35
Figure 14: Model of initial affinity diagram ................................................................................................................35
Figure 15: Slicing the quotation document for the affinity diagram ................................................................ 36
Figure 16: Assembling the literature review affinity diagram ........................................................................... 36
Figure 17: Six poster boards of assembled knowledge! ........................................................................................ 36
Figure 18: Fake Steampunk goggles ..............................................................................................................................37
Figure 19: Lady Almyra Gunn, Steampunk researcher, scientist, and explorer extraordinaire ........... 38
Figure 20: Steampunk sewing machine .......................................................................................................................39
Figure 21: Steampunk sewing machine .......................................................................................................................39
Figure 22: The Steampunk Lazarus machine .............................................................................................................39
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ABSTRACT
Technological gadgetry is a world of homogenized objects; every iPhone, for example, looks and
acts the same when shipped from the factory. However, once a technological gadget is bought, its
biography is determined by its owner from that moment onward. The appropriation of an object,
i.e. the adaption of an object so it fits a person’s life-world and identity, is hard to pinpoint
explicitly. How does one know when an object has been appropriated, and why? Are there certain
objects that encourage appropriation? Are there certain objects that discourage it?
This capstone paper attempts to define creative technological appropriation and identity in relation
to one another by using Steampunk as a case study. The technological aesthetics of Steampunk
rebel against our always-connected-with-my-super-high-tech-homogenized-gadget culture by finding
inspiration in the past. Specifically, the Victorian era, when industrialization did not mean
homogenized yet. Why do people join this movement, and how? What is their creative process? How
does this creative act of appropriation reflect, influence, and potentially define their identity? What
can the field of Human-computer Interaction learn from Steampunk?
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INTRODUCTION
Technology as we know it is meant to ease the burden, as it were, of daily living. We are accustomed
to using technology, even at its simplest form (a hammer, perhaps), to solve our problems. We have
cell phones that connect us to loved ones, co-workers, and clients. Our calculators compute simple
math as well as integrals and derivatives. Our global positioning units tell us where we are, where
we are heading, and where our desired destination is in relation to these two pieces of information.
Technology, when put in this light, is wonderful. Technology solves our problems and does it faster
than we could without it. Yet, we are dissatisfied with the technology we have. It is never fast
enough, feels good enough, or accomplishes exactly what we want. And so, we reject it, hoping the
next iteration will save us. That is, those of us without a connection to our technology reject it,
hoping the next iteration will save us. There are a number of us who, rather than looking for the
next best thing, are satisfied instead to develop relationships with our existing technology. We
appropriate the technology in our lives to suit our own purposes, rather than relying on the next
iteration to get a little closer to what we actually want.
As with anything, there are varying degrees of appropriation. For some, appropriation merely
means to “adapt and integrate” into one’s “everyday life” (Carroll). For others, appropriation means
“unpacking” the object into its “constituent parts or functions” and then creatively “customizing”
the object so that “the user has transformed the shape” (Carroll).
While both ends of the spectrum are interesting, this act of creative appropriation is most intriguing
because of the sometime immense amount of energy required to accomplish it. After all, in varying
degrees, we are all a part of a tradition in where we “are driven to customize their objects and build
things;” it is not enough to simply accept objects as they are sometimes, we instead spend “copious
amounts of time tinkering” (Buechley). Yet, for some reason, certain objects are more likely to be
appropriated, and certain persons are more likely to creatively appropriate.
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WHY IS APPROPRIATION IMPORTANT?
First, one must admit that “in all human cultures, material objects are social communicators”
(Mackay). It is unavoidable to judge another person based on their clothing, what shoes they wear,
etc. This is not to say that this judgment is negative, per se, it is merely a level of understanding a
person based on the objects they choose to wear. Should one visit the home of a friend, there is an
added layer of understanding into the personality, morals, etc, of said friend. The color of the walls,
the style of chairs, the types of kitchen utensils, are all indicators of the person and their preferred
understanding of their surrounding world. There are many who feel they “might as well have a
relationship with the items” with which they surround themselves (Rosner). As Norman says,
…Products can be more than the sum of the functions they perform. Their real value can be
in fulfilling people’s emotional needs, and one of the most important needs of all is to
establish one’s self-image and one’s place in the world (Norman).
It is not enough to have objects in one’s life, as found by Odom et al. People “desire to develop a
strong attachment to particular digital things such as laptops” (Odom). In order to engage digital
material objects, people have turned to such do-it-yourself activities as “IKEA hacking,” where one
“takes something off-the-shelf, alters it to fit [one’s] needs—to be more personal, to make a
statement, to improve it better than mass marketing could” (Rosner). The importance behind this is
that through this “hacking,” i.e. appropriation, the object is “no longer the creation of some other,
but of one’s self” (Rosner).
This is the subject of this capstone: to study the overlap between identity and appropriation, to
develop an appropriation design framework in a way that empowers the user to find him- or herself
in the design concept. In studying identity and appropriation, I mean to provide interaction
designers with a theory that will provide the basis for designs that encourage appropriation.
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Identity Appropriation
FIGURE 1: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IDENTITY AND APPROPRIATION
Appropriation happens in multiple realms, from bodily appropriation (piercings, tattoos), to

appropriation of everyday items (furniture, buttons, etc), to the extreme creative appropriation of
digital material artifacts, and the case study of this capstone, Steampunk.
Steampunk, informally speaking, is a “cultural movement” that is “much more than just an
aesthetic,” it’s “also about being more deeply connected to what you create” (Poeter). It began as a
literary movement in the 1980s as an “outgrowth” of the futuristic Cyberpunk; an “antiquated re-
imagining of Cyberpunk set 100 years in the past rather than 100 years in the future” (Gross, C).
Please refer to the literature review section for a more formal definition.
WHY STUDY STEAMPUNK AS A CASE STUDY OF APPROPRIATION?
Steampunk is a “non-luddite critique of technology” (Catastrophone). Persons involved in the

Steampunk movement, also known as Steampunks, are “dialing down their digital existence in favor
of embracing physical materialization as a route to creative satisfaction” (Hell). This has a direct
relation to the do-it-yourself movement as discovered in the field of human-computer interaction,
where it was recently noted that:
We are in the midst of a tinkerer-maker revolution where everyone from amateur geeks to
world-class artists are sharing a common spirit of creative energy. The DIY attitude is one of
play, experimentation, and an appreciation for an intellectual landscape of possibility and
undefined paths (Diana).
This is a preliminary answer to the question, why does the do-it-yourself movement exist today?
After all, it is more convenient and possibly even more practical to buy a finished product. Yet,
stores like Lowes, JoAnn Fabrics, and Hobby Lobby; television shows like Design on a Dime, Trading
Spaces, and Carter Can; and websites like Etsy, IKEA Hacker, and Instructables, are all flourishing.
Why is this?
Informally speaking, I often hear it is the “bad economy,” and this explains why people are doing
more on their own. This is both true and untrue… it is still much cheaper to buy clothing than to
make it from a yard of fabric, for instance, and I have the receipts to prove it. So while I am sure that
finances are always a factor, I contend that a large portion of the do-it-yourself movement exists
because it is in people’s nature to have a certain “creative energy” (Diana).
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I contend that people want a certain number of objects that are personal, meaningful, unique, and
with a story. After all, for an object to be “relevant to human life,” it must be “interpreted” in order
to “play a part in a human narrative” (Harré). People like to have a certain number of objects that
they keep for “so long” that they are “perceived as having personality, soul, charcter, and is loved
and cared for” (Battarbee).
People are more than “just problem solvers;” we are “creatures of boundless curiosity” (Paulos).
More than that, there are certain people, do-it-yourselfers, also known as “makers,” who “find
resonance with materials and people” (Silver).
The user autonomy […] is evidently connected to the very individual, social, cultural and
emotional value of the objects and perhaps suggests that the designer should look at ways
in which to leave space in the design for the consumers’ own interpretation, rather than
design a piece to be used only as directed by the designer. For example, enabling the user to
personalize an object or adapt the way it is used (Lacey).
Echoing Lacey, I feel human-computer interaction designers can learn from the creative act of
appropriation by studying Steampunks, a conveniently enthusiastic group of do-it-yourselfers who
are prolific online through blogs, forums, and merchant websites to name a few.
Steampunk has multiple connotations with fashion, fiction, music, and technological physical
aesthetics, among others (Ratt). I am focusing on the latter. The technological aesthetics of
Steampunk rebel against our always-connected-with-my-super-high-tech-homogenized-gadget
culture by finding inspiration in the past, specifically, the Victorian era, when industrialization did
not mean homogenized yet. Why do people join this movement, and how? What is their creative
process? How does this creative act of appropriation reflect, influence, and potentially define their
sense of self?
With all this said, my goal with this project is to provide a foundation for understanding
technological appropriation by studying the motives behind the act of creative appropriation within
the Steampunk movement. By studying Steampunks, how they define themselves, and their
relationships with the objects they choose to (and not to) appropriate, I will identify key
characteristics of objects that encourage appropriation, and develop a framework based on these
characteristics. The ideas I present are not meant as a formula for appropriation. Instead, they are
meant as a starting point for designers to think about the objects they design, and the potential they
provide for user appropriation.
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APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
The underlying assumption guiding this research is that people desire to be attached to objects.
There are varying levels of desire, attachment, and the relationship between them, and depend
completely on the person, their history, culture, etc.
Despite this variance, designers need to be aware that there is a need for people to feel a connection
with the objects brought into their life-worlds.
In this way, the topic of appropriation is suited for a human-centered research project. When
someone appropriates an artifact, it speaks to the level of connection felt. But how can we know
when someone has appropriated an object, why, if they are aware of it, and how it
reflects/influences their sense of self and/or personal identity?
Additionally, this research assumes that all persons are creative, with the caveat that there are as
many types of creativity as there are people. Because of this, and the aforementioned assumption,
much of the research for this project will be qualitative, based firmly in a social constructivist
understanding of the information gathered.
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM
I was once asked how I define myself, and if my self-perception had any bearing on how I perceived
the world. My answer was that I see myself as an artist, a writer, a designer, and an engineer…
essentially in that order. I believe this order greatly impacts how I understand the world.
I tend to see every event as a narrative, which I can then extract something beautiful or ugly from it
that provides insight into a design I may someday implement.
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I realize, however, that how I see the world is not how others see it. In fact, the way I see the world
is entirely dependent on me; on my history, my emotions, and my perceptions. How I understand
the world is a foreign set of concepts to those around me, and vice versa.
In this way, this capstone project is based in social constructivism. As mentioned in the Creswell
text, I “seek understanding of the world” in which I “live and work” (Creswell). Meaning is
“constructed” by humans as they “engage with the world they are interpreting,” and it is important
to “understand the context” (Creswell). I am using a social constructivist approach because it
provides “sensitivity to the importance of both technological and social issues and the interaction
between the two” (Carroll).
BELIEFS
“You live in a fantasy world, where every day is a musical and inanimate objects speak back
to you.” – Jacqueline Akah
The quote above belongs to an anecdote in which my mother informed me that I am not of this
world. You see, I anthropomorphize everything. Rest assured, I am not psychotic, nor am I
schizophrenic. I treasure my engagement with the world around me. It is not enough for me to
simply exist; I need to have explicit relationships with the objects and persons in my life. I need to
be able to touch an artifact and register the sensation.
Therefore, this project was guided by the belief that I, as a tactile person, care more about physical
objects than digital artifacts, and that these artifacts have (or develop) personalities. As such, I
focused on the act of appropriating physical technology, rather than the ephemeral digital artifacts
hidden behind the LCD screen.
OVERVIEW
I began my research by reviewing existing literature. I read articles on appropriation, creativity, do-
it-yourself, hacking, modification, enjoyment, and identity. It seems as though this is a fairly new
trend in the interaction design field, as many of these papers, especially in terms of creativity, do-it-
yourself, hacking, and modification, were published in and around the April 2009 SIGCHI
conference.
I looked at multiple styles, methods, and mediums of appropriation to understand the creative
process behind the act. I allowed anything from body tattoos to the reimagining of computer
keyboards to inspire and inform my understanding of how and why people appropriate. There is
much to be learned from the creative process, what it means to appropriation, and specifically how
it affects one’s identity/self-perception.
In order to understand how do-it-yourselfers and creative persons perceive themselves, the objects
in their lives, and the relationship between the two, I utilized direct and indirect user research.
In terms of direct user research, I performed autoethnography, as I am a member of the creative,

do-it-yourself population with an interest in historical artifacts and modern technology. I
appropriated safety goggles, bead containers, super glue and acrylic paint to create my own set of
(fake) Steampunk-styled goggles. I collected clothing, keys, wrenches, brooches, etc, to create a
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Halloween costume where I adopted a Steampunk researcher-scientist-explorer-extraordinaire

persona. I utilized my elective ceramics course to explore the visual aesthetic of Steampunk by
reimagining a sewing machine in the style, and by creating an imaginary machine, The Lazarus,
whose purpose was to transform Jell-O into Jell-O cupcakes.
For indirect research, I scoured online blogs, forums, Etsy merchant websites, and the independent
Steampunk Magazine for articles. The blogs, forums, and magazine articles proved to be a
wonderful introduction to the Steampunk movement, as well as how the self-described Steampunks
commented on themselves and the objects in their lives. The Etsy merchant websites were a great
resource for the actual creatives and do-it-yourselfers, as they gave me the opportunity to study the
artifacts created, and how the creator introduced the artifact to potential customers.
Essentially every conversation I had about this project turned into a design session, especially if it
occurred in my bedroom where my whiteboard was available for frenzied writing. I learned a lot
from the questions people asked me, as they revealed my own assumptions and understanding of
the world. Aside from conversations, I utilized card sorting and affinity diagramming to help scope
the opportunity space of this project, and my literature review, down to a manageable arena.
Although more literature needs to be read, more exemplars found, and more user research
conducted, what I have accomplished helps frame the opportunity space for a theory about
appropriation, identity, and objects. The hope is that this theory will lead to designs that exemplify
the theory, and provide a framework for fellow designers.
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LITERATURE REVIEW
The term “appropriation” is generally used in terms of finances and property, relating to illegal
possession. Within human-computer interaction, however, it has been used as a positive reflection
of users relating to the technology in their lives. Not only is it a positive phenomenon, it seems to be
a desired outcome of technological design.
The benefits are obvious from a business standpoint: design a product, interface, etc, that allows
and encourages a potential customer/user to relate to it, see themselves in it, allow it to reflect how
they see themselves and in turn allow it to influence how they see themselves…
It is a powerful thing, to feel an object reflects and influences how one sees oneself. If a company
can tap into that experience, the company has possibly created a customer for life. Additionally, the
customer is able to take pride in, and feel empowered and encouraged by, the product.
With this in mind, how do I define this ephemeral phrase, personal identity? What do I mean when I
refer to one’s ‘sense of self?’ How does this definition relate to appropriation, materiality, and
finally, my case study of Steampunk?
This literature review section is divided into the following sections: identity, appropriation,
materiality, and Steampunk. Within each section, I review pertinent resources and definitions in
order to build my working definitions, which will, once coupled with interviews and observations,
help me crystallize a design theory/framework about identity and the appropriation of technology.
IDENTITY
According to my research, identity is a hot topic in the psychology, sociology, anthropology,

folklore, and other related realms of study. As such, I have no intention of launching into a
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groundbreaking study about identity and technology. I am happy to rely on those who have come
before me; they have a much stronger understanding of identity and its importance.
Identity, in its simplest form, is how we define our sense of self defines how we see and/or
interpret and/or comprehend the world around us. Identity colors our actions and scopes our
interests. Identity and sense of self are large, they “contain multitudes,” to loosely quote Whitman.
However, I have come to realize that identity is in no way the same thing as sense of self. Identity is
a representation of that self, but not necessarily the self itself.
Self Identity
FIGURE 2: IDENTITY REPRESENTS SELF, BUT ISN’T NECESSARILY SELF
I approached defining identity from two angles, the established everyday definition, and the
established academic definitions. The everyday definition establishes a good working definition to
then understand the technical use within psychology, anthropology, and folklore papers, which led
me to my definition of identity.
EVERYDAY DEFINITIONS
When the general public wants to understand what identity means, where do they turn? Being a
member of the general public myself, I turned to what I always turn to when in doubt about the
meaning of a word: the dictionary. Given my experience with dictionaries, I have realized that the
definition varies depending on the source. So, to triangulate the everyday definition of what it
means to appropriate, I referenced the online Free Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, the Oxford
English Dictionary, and Wikipedia.
Below are my findings followed with a discussion behind why that particular definition relates
personal identity and appropriation. The bold emphasis is mine.
Free Dictionary: (1) The collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which a thing is
definitively recognizable or known. (2) The set of behavioral or personal characteristics
by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group. (3) The quality or condition
of being the same as something else. (4) The distinct personality of an individual regarded
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as a persisting entity; individuality. (5) Information, such as an identification number, used

to establish or prove a person’s individuality, as in providing access to a credit account. 1
This definition, along with the following definitions, emphasizes the importance of “distinction,”
that is, a recognizable attribute about a person which makes them different from others. It is, I
assume, the way that helps us “identify” one another as separate persons in the first place.
Merriam-Webster: (1a) Sameness of essential or generic character in different instances.

(1b) Sameness in all that constitutes the objective reality of a thing: oneness. (2a) The
distinguishing character or personality of an individual: individuality. (2b) The relation
established by psychological identification. 2
Again, to have an “identity,” one must be an “individual” with at least one “distinguishing
characteristic or personality.”
Oxford English Dictionary: (1) The quality or condition of being the same in substance,
composition, nature, properties, or in particular qualities under consideration;
absolute or essential sameness; oneness; absolute identity, that asserted in the
metaphysical doctrine of Schelling that mind and matter are phenomenal modifications of
the same substance. (2) The sameness of a person or thing at all times or in all
circumstances; the condition or fact that a person or thing is itself and not something
else; individuality, personality; personal identity (in Psychology), the condition or fact of
remaining the same person throughout the various phases of existence; continuity of the
personality. 3
Through the Oxford English Dictionary, we finally get an explicit reference to personal identity,
describing it as the simple fact of “remaining the same person,” that is, a certain “continuity of
personality.” Why is this important? Because it showcases that even if a person acts one way in a
certain environment, e.g. work, and a completely different way in another situation, e.g. home, they
are the same person. The characteristics may change depending on the environment, yet, there is
still the matter that the person defines him- or herself as him- or herself, and not anyone else.
Wikipedia (philosophy): identity (also called sameness) is whatever makes an entity

definable and recognizable, in terms of possessing a set of qualities or characteristics that
distinguish it from entities of a different type. Or, in layman’s terms, identity is whatever
makes something the same or different. 4
The pattern these definitions form is that there must be some definite, recognizable detail,
particular, characteristic, etc, that allows us to say, without a doubt, that he is he, she is she, and
that this he-and-she is not another he-and-she.
1 Free Dictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/identity

2 Merriam-Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/identity
3 Oxford English Dictionary:
http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50111220?query_type=word&queryword=identity&first=1&max_to_sh
ow=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=1&search_id=om2G-HMcDAB-17104&hilite=50111220
4 Wikipedia (philosophy): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_%28philosophy%29
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Wikipedia (social science): an umbrella term used throughout the social sciences to
describe an individual’s comprehension of him or herself as a discrete, separate entity. 5
According to these definitions, identity is about the individual. Identity is about the unique
properties, qualities, characteristics that make one an autonomous entity.
ACADEMIC DEFINITIONS
According to the following academic definitions, there are a number of theories about personal
identity, one’s sense of self, etc.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Your identity in this sense consists roughly of what
makes you unique as an individual and different from others. Or it is the way you see or
define yourself, or the network of values and convictions that structure your life. This
individual identity is a property (or set of properties). Presumably it is one you have only
contingently—you might have had a different identity from the one you in fact have—and
one that you might have for a while and then lose: you could acquire a new individual
identity, or perhaps even get by without one. 6
This is an interesting concept, because it shows that we define our own sense of identity. It is not
only what makes you unique (that is, the unique properties, qualities, and characteristics that make
one an autonomous entity), but also how you interpret these properties, values, and convictions to
define your identity.
If discussing the self, in particular, Leary lists the different uses in the magazine Self and Identity, as
shown below:
1. Self as synonym for person,

2. Self as synonym for personality,
3. Self as self-as-knower, I-self, self-as-subject,
4. Self-as-known, me-self, self-as-object; i.e. the perceptions, thoughts, beliefs, evaluations and
feelings people have about themselves, and
5. Self as decision-maker and doer, the agentic ghost in the machine.
In the instance of this capstone, I will be utilizing the fourth definition, in which I will discuss self-
as-known, or the self-as-object. I am interested in the perceptions, thoughts, beliefs, evaluations,
and feelings people have about themselves than in their personality, etc.
According to Markus and Kitayama, the self has two major “constructuals,” you can have an
“independent” view of the self, or an “interdependent” view of self, which can “influence” and
“determine” the “very nature of existence.” The differences between these two constructuals are
essentially (as found in a summary table on pg 230):
 Independent: internally-defined through thoughts and feelings, separate from social

context, bounded and stable, determined to be unique, etc
 Interdependent: externally-defined through status and relationships, connected with social
context, flexible and variable, determined to fit in, etc
5 Wikipedia (social science): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_%28social_science%29

6 Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-personal/
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That is to say, it is just as important to study the independent identity as it is to study the
interdependent identity. In order to do this, it is important to look at the community that the
individual belongs to, in order to determine the influences that help determine the interdependent
identity. What is a community? It could be considered a collection of individuals, in the way that
“personal identity is shaped from experiences that are unique to the individual as well as from
those common to a collection of individuals” (Oring).
It seems to me that identity must be and is interdependent as well as independent. When alone, I
think, see, and interpret myself and my actions in one way. However, once in a social setting (i.e. I
am no longer completely alone), I interpret my thoughts and actions in relation to how I assume
others may interpret them. As such, my identity and understanding of myself shifts
interdependently with the persons surrounding me.
That said, I agree that identity is a collection of characteristics, skills, qualities, etc, that make one an
entity, as with the common definitions. Since I also agree with the academic definitions about
interdependency, especially as we are never truly alone but are members of the culture in which we
live, my definition of identity must keep this in mind.
There is something to be said about having a collection of qualities, experiences, etc, which are
unique to an individual but also to a community of individuals, as Oring states. After all, “collective
identity,” or the identity of a community of individuals, is simply those “aspects of personal
identity” derived from “experiences and expressions common to a group,” where the group is the
“intersection of personal identities and has no existence apart from the psyche of particular
individuals (Oring).
WORKING DEFINITION OF IDENTITY
While writing this paper it was suggested that I read Hebdige and Turkle’s thoughts on the matter
of identity and technology. They are on my reading list, but in the meantime, I need a working
definition of identity.
I am mainly focused on personal identity, rather than individual identity or communal identity,
though they do have influencing roles. I do believe identity is about being unique, yet influenced by
the community/culture. Therefore, my working definition of identity is:
Identity is the unique set of experiences, qualities, characteristics, thoughts, behaviors, etc,
that recognizably define an individual or collection of individuals, and the relationships
occurring between them.
See below for a visual representation of this definition.
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Characteristics
Qualities Thoughts
Experiences
Personal Behaviors
Identity
FIGURE 3: VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF PERSONAL IDENTITY
With this definition of identity in mind, how do the objects in our lives reflect and influence it? How
and why do we choose these objects? What does it mean to appropriate?
APPROPRIATION
As with my definition of identity, I approached defining appropriation for this study from two
angles, the everyday definition, and the definition used by the field of human-computer interaction.
The everyday definition establishes a good working definition to then understand the technical use
within human-computer interaction papers, which led me to my definition of appropriation.
EVERYDAY DEFINITIONS
Similar to my method for defining identity, I triangulated definitions from Dictionary.com, the
online Free Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, the Oxford English Dictionary, Wikipedia, and
Wiktionary, in order to understand what it means to appropriate an object.
Below are my findings followed with a discussion behind why that particular definition relates
personal identity and appropriation. The bold emphasis is mine.
Dictionary.com: adj (1) Suitable or fitting for a particular purpose, person, occasion, etc. (2)
Belonging to or peculiar to a person. v (3) To set apart, authorize, or legislate for some
specific purpose or use. (4) To take to or for oneself; take possession of. (5) To take
without permission or consent; seize; expropriate. (6) To steal, esp. to commit petty theft. 7
This definition of appropriation directly relates to the individual, and therefore must be included in
the factors contributing to my definition of appropriation. This definition brought the following
questions to mind: does it mean that by taking possession of an object, the object becomes
particular to that person? If it does become particular to that person, does this reflect a portion of
7 Dictionary.com: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/appropriate?db=luna
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said person’s personal identity? Are there ever appropriated objects which do not influence or
reflect personal identity?
Free Dictionary: (1) To take for one’s own use, esp illegally or without permission. (2)
(Economics, Accounting & Finance / Banking & Finance) To put aside (funds, etc.) for a
particular purpose or person. 8
This definition is important because it highlights the importance of the individual taking possession
of an object without permission. Whose permission? In the everyday sense, it is perhaps the
permission of the ‘original owner’ of the object. In terms of design, however, I read this to mean the
designer of the object.
That is, appropriation means to take an object for “one’s own use” to use as one chooses “without
the permission” of the original designer, and disregarding the designer’s intent. It is not to say that
the designer forgot anything in the design, it is only to state that the user “understands and is
comfortable enough with the technology to use it in their own way” (Dix).
Merriam-Webster: (1) To take exclusive possession of: annex. (2) To set apart for or
assign to a particular purpose or use. (3) To take or make use of without authority or
right. 9
Merriam-Webster’s definition highlights the importance of redefining the use of an object by

“adapting” the “technology in ways never envisaged by the designers, or even deliberately
subverting the designer’s intentions” (Dix).
Oxford English Dictionary: (1) To make (a thing) the private property of any one, to
make it over to him as his own; to set apart. (2) Const. to oneself: = next. (3) Hence ellipt.
To take possession of for one’s own, to take to oneself. (4) Eccl. To annex (a benefice) to
some religious corporation, as its property. (5) To allot, annex, or attach a thing to another
as an appendage. Obs. (6) To devote, set apart, or assign to a special purpose or use. Const.
to, for. (7) To assign or attribute as properly pertaining to; to attribute specially or
exclusively. arch. (8) To make, or select as, appropriate or suitable to; to suit. arch. (9)
To make proper, to fashion suitably. (So Fr. approprier.) Obs. 10
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) begins to repeat some of the aforementioned definitions,
primarily because the OED goes into the etymology and multiple definitions of the word. It is the
one of the most thorough resources in terms of word definitions. Therefore, it helps solidify the
idea that appropriation is about making the object particular to a person, that it includes taking
possession, and that it requires making the object suitable to a person.
Wikipedia: Appropriation is the act of taking possession of or assigning purpose to

properties or ideas and is important in many topics. 11
8 Free Dictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/appropriate

9 Merriam-Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/appropriate
10 Oxford English Dictionary:
http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50010959?query_type=word&queryword=appropriate&first=1&max_t
o_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=2&search_id=YR1Y-4QkcEy-10313&hilite=50010959
11 Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appropriation
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Again, we have a definition where appropriation means assigning (or reassigning) the purpose of
an object as it suits the owner.
Wiktionary: v (1) To make suitable; to suit. — William Paley. (2) To take to one’s self in
exclusion of others; to claim or use as by an exclusive right. (3) To set apart for, or
assign to, a particular person or use, in exclusion of all others. (4) To annex, as a benefice, to
a spiritual corporation, as its property. –Blackstone. 12
Wiktionary’s definition is an excellent clarification because it refers to the “exclusive” right one has
to take an object in a way that “suits” one’s needs. I would like to extrapolate this to more than how
one needs, but also how one wants, and how one chooses to see and interact with the world.
HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION DEFINITIONS
There are two major ideas of appropriation that I have found within the field of human-computer
interaction design: appropriation as temporal experience, and appropriation as adaptability.
A PPROPRIATION AS T EMPORAL E XPERIENCE

Based on readings from Adhe, McCarthy and Wright, and Wakkary and Maestri, one can think of
appropriation as the amount of time spent with an object. All three papers suggest there must be
some sort of meaningful interaction or experience with the object.
Adhe suggests the interaction/experience needs to be positive, whereas the other two papers make
no distinction. Indeed, not only does “the process of appropriation require pleasurable
experiences,” the paper also asserts that the “appropriation process is part of a biography of goods.
It is part of the biography of the products from the moment of purchase” (Ahde).
McCarthy and Wright seem to have a similar definition, saying that appropriation means “making
an experience our own by relating it to our sense of self, our personal history, and our anticipated
future.”
Wakkary and Maestri reference McCarthy and Wright by saying “we mean the remaking of
something through a use that becomes personal, framed within our understanding of our situation
and our anticipated future.”
A PPROPRIATION AS ADAPTABILITY
Appropriation as adaptability and appropriation as temporal experience are inextricably
intertwined, and therefore I do not want to say that the following quotations on adaptability are in
contrast to temporal experience.
At the same time, however, their motivations are slightly different. One cannot learn to adapt an
object without spending time with it, and without having an experience which suggests adaptation
is an option.
As mentioned before, Dix has a definition which relates directly to some of the everyday definitions
of appropriation.
12 Wiktionary: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/appropriate
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“These improvisations and adaptations around technology are not a sign of failure, things
the designer forgot, but show that the technology has been domesticated, that the users
understand and are comfortable enough with the technology to use it in their own ways. At
this point we know that technology has become the users’ own, not simply what the
designer gave to them. This is appropriation.”
March, Jacobs, and Salvador say that their focus for appropriation is on “openness, transparency
and adaptability.” Similarly, Salovaara says appropriation is when “users invent ways to use
technology for purposes that they had not been considered before.”
P UTTING IT TOGETHER
With these two definitions in place, I have to first say that I do not believe one must have a positive
experience in order to appropriate an object. While a positive experience helps, I feel one can
appropriate something even under negative circumstances.
For instance, how many of us hold on to our ‘lemon’ cars, perhaps, because of memorable road trips
with family/friends, etc? Perhaps it was the first car we ever learned to drive, even though the
bottom is rusted out. It does not matter if the car is decrepit. In our mind, it is still that shiny car our
parents gave to us, or the first car we could afford to buy with our own money.
In that way, I agree with McCarthy and Wright in saying that appropriation is when we “relate [the
object] to our sense of self, our personal history.” In order to appropriate, the object must become a
part of one’s personal narrative.
And how does one do that, exactly? Because it is not enough to simply bring the object into one’s
life. That is not appropriation. That is possession.
Appropriation, then, is when one uses the object “in their own way,” as according to Dix. It is when
one “adapts,” as per March, Jacobs, and Salvador, the object to one’s life/task/style/etc. I especially
like Salovaara’s idea of appropriation, where it’s about using the object for something it hadn’t been
“considered before.”
WORKING DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATION
Therefore, by pulling keywords and phrases from the everyday and ACM definitions, I posit:
Appropriation is the act of adapting an object to oneself in a way that not only redefines the
object, but also relates the object to one’s sense of self.
See below for a visual representation of this definition.
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Object
Appropriation Reflection
Identity
FIGURE 4: VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF APPROPRIATION
As mentioned in my approach and methods section, I recognize that one can appropriate material
(physical) and immaterial (digital) objects, yet, I choose to focus on the physical because of the
interesting and interactive dynamic that occurs through creative appropriation. What do I mean by
material i.e. physical objects?
STEAMPUNK
When mentioning Steampunk to someone who has never heard of it, I tend to receive blank looks.
“Stream-punk?” they ask, their brows furrowed. After a brief explanation which generally includes
some mention of brass goggles, mad scientists, dirigibles, and corsets, I sometimes receive a
dawning expression as the other half of the conversation exclaims, “Oh, you mean Victorian Punk.”
“No,” I sigh, “Steampunk. Think… um… League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, or Wild Wild West. No?
Not ringing a bell? How about Casper? Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy? The Prestige?”
There is no one “true” definition of Steampunk, so it is not surprising that when I speak of it, no one
knows exactly what I am talking about. There is a general consensus of when and how the term was
created, however. It began, firstly, as a literary movement in the 1980s. K.W. Jeter, a “pioneer
Cyberpunk author,” wrote in 1987 that
Personally, I think Victorian fantasies are going to be the next big thing, as long as we can
come up with a fitting collective term for Powers, Blaylock, and myself. Something based on
the appropriate technology of the era; like ‘steampunks,’ perhaps… (Gross, C).
According to Cory Gross, Steampunk is an “antiquated re-imagining of Cyberpunk set 100 years in
the past rather than 100 years in the future.” This is the literary tradition, perhaps, but what about
Akah Page 24
the burgeoning movement that is “only chartable through mid-2006?” (Poeter). According to the
Steampunk Magazine, it is a “non-luddite critique of technology” (Catastrophone). The Steampunk
Magazine, an independent, volunteer-run magazine highlighting fiction, how-to articles, music and
movie reviews, etc, identifies with the “punk” as much as with the “steam” technology.
Steampunk machines are real, breathing, coughing, struggling and rumbling parts of the
world. …Too much of what passes as Steampunk denies the punk, in all of its guises. Punk—
the fuse for lighting cannons. Punk—the downtrodden and dirty. Punk—the aggressive, do-
it-yourself ethic (Catastrophone).
Some claim that Steampunk is a way of “creating sublime awe within an apathetic, overly
connected, jaded culture” (Hell). Still others say that it is “popular now because people are
unconsciously realizing that the way we live has already died. We are sleepwalking” and too reliant
on technology (Sterling).
In this way, Steampunk is, in fact, a “non-luddite critique of technology.” It is, for the crafters, do-it-
yourselfers, and inventors drawn to the aesthetic, a “counterculture Arts and Crafts Movement in a
21st Century guise” (Sterling).
The Arts and Crafts Movement of the 19th Century was a rebuttal to the dangers of “standardization
and mechanization,” from both an “aesthetic and social” standpoint (Verbeek). The point of the
movement was to “produce objects that were both useful and beautiful” (Verbeek). In this way, the
crafters, do-it-yourselfers, and inventors who utilize the Steampunk aesthetics to redefine modern
computing technology are doing just as William Morris wished, to create “a thing of beauty and a
joy forever” (Verbeek). Luckily for Steampunks, they are “equipped with a number of creative tools
and approaches” that the Arts and Crafts movers and shakers never could have imagined, such as
“design software, fabricators, Instructables videos, websites, wikis, cellphones, search engines and
Etsy.com” (Sterling).
WHY LOOK AT THE CRAFTING ASPECTS OF STEAMPUNK?
Because “learning, creativity, practical problem-solving, perception, and action are central” to
understanding the process of appropriation, and all these concepts are necessary to accomplish a
Steampunk technological appropriation. (Salovaara). Appropriation, from a completely aesthetic
Steampunk standpoint, critiques the current designs of technology because it uses “a shiny,
polished chromium surface” that looks “worn out with the first scratch,” as opposed to a material
that may “become more beautiful when it has been used for some time,” like “leather” (Verbeek).
Steampunk’s key lessons are not about the past. They are about the instability and
obsolescence of our own times. A host of objects and services that we see each day all
around us are not sustainable (Sterling).
By appropriating objects, i.e. by making these objects personal, we are less likely to throw them
away in search of something newer and better. This is what draws me to Steampunk. This is why I
find Steampunk fascinating. Steampunk is a “physical, hands-on subculture,” which, as I said in my
Approach and Methods section, is highly important to me as a tactile person. Is the fact that these
creative appropriations occur on physical objects an important insight? I am not sure. But I do
know that I love the fact that the “lifestyle encourages people to think creatively” (Bulloff).
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EXEMPLAR RESEARCH
To gain insight from the exemplars chosen, I followed Fleming’s model of artifact study, where I
identify, evaluate, analyze, and interpret each artifact. I looked at the expected venues of creative
technological appropriation (i.e. Steampunk), but also at unexpected examples of appropriation,
organized into these categories:
1. Bodily appropriation: identity by tattooing the human body

2. Appropriation of the everyday: identity by repurposing everyday objects
3. Appropriation, Steampunk-style: identity by modifying technology
BODILY APPROPRIATION
Contrariwise, a blog collecting the photos and stories of

persons who get literary tattoos, has collected, at the
time of writing this paper, sixteen different versions of
Kurt Vonnegut’s famous “so it goes.”
The story associated with this particular tattoo (shown

in Figure 5) explained it was created by the wearer and
his friend. The image is a “triangle consisting of rock,
scissors, and paper, representing cycles of success and
failure, gain and loss, power and weakness, etc. Nothing
is ever absolute.” 13
This tattoo, in comparison to other “so it goes” tattoos,

has additional meaning because it was designed
FIGURE 5: “SO IT GOES” TATTOO
13 Contrariwise: http://www.contrariwise.org/2009/09/26/so-it-goes-14/
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between friends, whereas other tattoos are only the words of Vonnegut’s prose. That said, the fact
that there are so many renditions of the “so it goes” tattoo speaks to the cultural significance of
Vonnegut’s words in the United States. Additionally, there is the fact that the two friends chose the
game “rock, paper, scissors” to represent “failure, loss, gain/loss, and power/weakness.” Given that
two friends designed the tattoo, and that the tattoo references the childhood decision game, speaks
to their steadfast relationship.
The significance of this tattoo is that while the message is “nothing is ever absolute,” the tattoo itself
is, in a manner, absolute by the nature of its existence. The tattoo is a reminder that “nothing is ever
absolute” is, perhaps, the one absolute.
Through tattooing, the wearer has appropriated his elbow. He has done so by adapting the elbow,
an innocuous joint, to himself in a way that not only redefines the elbow, but also relates the elbow
to his identity; to his thoughts, beliefs, qualities, characteristics, etc, that define him.
Another Contrariwise find, the literary tattoo shown in

Figure 6 is an excerpt from Charles Bukowski’s poem
462-0614, reading: “When the phone rings / I too would
like to hear words / that might ease / some of this.” 14
The poem is about the troubling reality Bukowski finds

himself, now published and well-known, when
admirers phone him asking for his secret. His poem is
about his readers, who contact him for words of
wisdom, and it tears him apart, for he too “would like to
hear words that might ease some of this.” FIGURE 6: BUKOWSKI TATTOO
In comparison to other tattoos, there is no story of the wearer accompanying the photo. However,
knowing the entire prose of the poem reveals, perhaps, that the wearer is used to being the
supportive friend/family member who also needs a shoulder to cry on every now and then. The
photo does not do a very good job showing where the tattoo is located, but again, its existence says
something about the wearer’s identity, and changes the wearer in a way relates to his/her identity.
APPROPRIATION OF THE EVERYDAY
Design Sponge, a blog dedicated to “reviews,

articles, features, rant and raves on all things design
related,” often showcases the creative ways people
use everyday objects to reflect their personal style.
Figure 7 shows how someone has taken toilet paper
rolls to make wall art for their living room. 15
This everyday appropriation of the toilet paper roll

showcases how creative persons tend to see art
materials in anything, from the most mundane
FIGURE 7: TOILET PAPER ROLL WALL ART (toilet paper rolls), to the most sophisticated
14 Contrariwise: http://www.contrariwise.org/2009/09/28/462-0614/
15 Design Sponge: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/11/diy-project-toilet-paper-roll-wall-art.html
Akah Page 27
(computer monitors). Why toilet paper rolls in this instance? Because they are always in
supply, they are easy to work with, and they allow the do-it-yourselfer to recycle. By
appropriating the toilet paper roll into wall art, the artist redefines the toilet paper roll into an
art material, and in the process, creates an art piece that reflects the importance of recycling,
which in turn relates the art piece to the artist’s identity.
Another Design Sponge find showcases the

work of a man with an old library chair he
bought for $15 (Figure 8). By applying paint,
stenciling, and wooden veneer, he used his do-
it-yourself skills to update the chair and reflect
his personal style. 16
What might have been considered an old chair

to throw away, or a chair to leave as a finished
piece, the artist, Will, used the chair as
unfinished material. Through adapting the
chair, he redefined it to become slick, modern,
“high society,” reflecting Will’s identity.
FIGURE 8: APPROPRIATING AN OFFICE CHAIR
Ran Hwang’s work, showcased in Figure 9, utilizes

everyday materials such as push-pins and buttons
to create massive wall-sized art pieces. 17 The
purpose in using everyday materials, she says, is to
use “materials related to the fashion world.”
It is pointillism, but rather than using tiny dots of

paint, Hwang uses buttons and push-pins. She takes
FIGURE 9: RAN HWANG'S BUTTON/PUSH-PIN
innocuous items and creates impressive works of
ART art that amaze and inspire, causing the viewer to
rethink their relationship with similar items.
The most important thing in terms of these everyday appropriations is, again, the act of
creation, of creativity. Of adapting materials that would not normally be considered fodder for
creative projects in order to reflect the creative/do-it-yourself identity and potentially
influence future projects.
16 Design Sponge: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/12/before-after-wills-chair-autumns-

office.html
17 Curbly: http://www.curbly.com/diy-maven/posts/7672-ran-hwang-s-button-and-push-pin-art
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APPROPRIATION, STEAMPUNK-STYLE
And now, we come to the exemplars that really inspired the direction of this capstone project:
Steampunk! As mentioned before, Steampunk has a very specific aesthetic of brass and wood, with
a sort of addiction to cog wheels, gears, screws, and clocks. The exemplars in this section include
everything from jewelry to keyboards, all following that same aesthetic and imagination of “the
path not taken” (Gross, C).
The materials used in the Steampunk style of appropriation are pleasing and seem classic precisely
because they are “perceived to improve rather than deteriorate with age” because they are natural
materials (Odom). Rather than the chrome of modern computing, Steampunk harkens back to brass
and cherry wood, which encourages a “more enduring human-artifact relationship and potentially
slow our disposal of digital things” because it “improves a product’s appearance in ways that
communicate its age and usage in dignified ways, which its owner(s) may take pride in” (Odom).
Figure 10 showcases a bracelet created by the Etsy

merchant, 19 Moons. 18 It was listed in the “handmade”
section of the online marketplace, with the following
description (bold emphasis mine):
“Constructed entirely of vintage elements, this is

an authentic time capsule and eco-friendly, too.
A partial 1940s-era Ruby jeweled watch movement

is collaged with genuine WWII winged paratrooper
balloon emblem and clock/watch gears. This in turn
is set onto a vintage clock like brass wheel, telling of
frozen times past, or distant future.
All are mounted on a vintage brass cuff bracelet of

Art Nouveau style. The patina on the clock dial and
movement attest to true age, beautifully ravaged by FIGURE 10: “TIME TRAVELER CUFF BRACELET”
time. This unique piece would not be out of place in
the world of Dr. Who or HG Wells.”
As mentioned by the merchant, this is a cuff bracelet made in the Steampunk visual aesthetic. It is
“eco-friendly” in its reuse of “vintage” i.e. 1940s-era clock watch parts, reflecting the growing
sustainability movement within Steampunk (Sterling). The description reveals the pride that goes
into the making of this bracelet, supporting Bulloff’s interview where a Steampunk explained (bold
emphasis mine),
“I feel as though the heart of Steampunk lies in its ability to grasp at what works in a set of
moral and societal values and bring them to the forefront. For example, the DIY culture of
anti-mass production is truly inspiring. I love holding something in my hands that I
know a lot of time and thought went into.”
This, additionally, supports my suspicion that “physical touch matters” more than many human-
computer interaction designers think (Norman). If designers want to create objects that encourage
18 19 Moons: http://www.etsy.com/shop/19Moons
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appropriation, and therefore empower their users to find themselves in the appropriated object,
there needs to be more than one level of interaction, i.e. sight, touch, weight, etc. As mentioned by
Ratt (bold emphasis mine), “it is the physical nature of Steampunk that attracted us to it in the first
place, however we first heard of it. We love machines that we can see, feel, and hear. We are
amazed by artifacts but are unimpressed by ‘high technology.’”
One might argue that the Steampunk style of appropriation is nothing more than customization. It
is a surface change to meet the requirements of a specific user, who just so happens to belong to a
community where many individuals prefer that same set of requirements. Perhaps this is true.
However, customization doesn’t necessarily have the same meaning, or deep level of meaning, the
way I imply appropriation does, because appropriation, the way I have defined it, insists that it is
the act of adapting the object to oneself in a way that redefines the object and relates it to one’s
sense of self.
While the Steampunk appropriation is, perhaps, a

very specific style of customization, it is still
appropriation due to the fact it is changing the
interaction with the technological object. The USB
drive as shown in Figure 11, for instance, will elicit a
different sort of interaction that the typical USB
drive. In this way, the device has been appropriated,
because its use has been changed in a way the
original designer never could have imagined.
This USB device was created by Will Rockwell, an

Etsy merchant. 19As he describes it, the drive is a
“high quality Kingston 64 GB flash memory” that FIGURE 11: STEAMPUNK
USB DRIVE
utilizes the “LED on the drive to power a faceted jewel
mounted like a diamond on the end of the drive.”
As compared to the previous Steampunk exemplar, this is, perhaps, a little less elegant. Yet, it still
uses brass rather than silver or chrome, precisely because it is a metal that tends to age well. It is
obviously handcrafted, first, because the creator said as much in the original description. Secondly,
one could have guessed it was handmade because it is imperfect, and rejoices in its imperfections.
One cannot argue “handmade objects” do not take a “significant” amount of “time and skill to
create” (Rosner). In fact, I believe it is because the handcrafted object “physically embodies the skill
and time involved in its production” that such Steampunk-appropriated items are popular.
I sincerely believe handcrafted objects are “charged” with the “history, narratives, and memories of
their creators as well as the people with whom they interact,” and that this encourages
appropriation (Rosner). The ability to interpret an object, where the interpretation comes from
one’s life-world and therefore is highly personal, enables appropriation where the object is
redefined in a way that reflects one’s identity.
What is the USB drive saying about its creator? It says to me that the owner/creator wants to
ensure that he takes careful care of the drive. By encasing it in brass with a “faceted jewel” to
19 Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/WillRockwell
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resemble a “diamond,” it’s a physical and visual reminder to handle the drive carefully.
Understandably, since a 64 GB flash memory drive is still relatively expensive. Additionally, it
implies that the creator wants to ensure that he does not replace this drive soon. The fact that he
put time into customizing a case, appropriating the aesthetics so that it changed his behavior to
what one might argue is a disposable storage unit, suggests as much.
MORE TO COME
I have a number of other Steampunk exemplars, which I hope to examine more fully in the next
semester as I perform interviews and observations. I hope to determine whether Steampunks agree
with Galloway’s statement that the “do-it-yourself culture involves creating your own world amid
the dominant culture, thereby putting the power back in the hands of individuals.” Is this the reason
why Etsy exists? Is this the reason why so many Steampunks share their wares on Etsy?
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USER RESEARCH
To begin my user research, I used an indirect approach by looking at blogs and the independent,
volunteer-run, Steampunk Magazine, for two reasons.
First, because this community of Steampunks is prolific online; they write how-to articles, discuss
how they found Steampunk, what it means to them, encourage others to join the fold, and to spread
the word of the newest creative venture that has taken everyone by storm, among others. The
persons involved in the blogs and magazine tend to be a mixture of Steampunks from expert
technicians to novice do-it-yourselfers. Due to the cosplay nature of Steampunk, there is a level of
semi-anonymity from either the Steampunk’s costume name, or associated online identity.
Second, due to the open nature of the blog posts, blog comments, and magazine articles, I felt that
scouring these sources would give me a meaty understanding of the Steampunk community and
movement, which would help me situate my role in the community, as a do-it-yourselfer and as a
researcher. It provided a solid foundation to inform my primary research, by providing information
that helped me determine the type of questions I wanted to ask the Steampunks who would allow
me to interview and observe them.
Utilizing Google Alerts to scour the internet for any article relating to the term “Steampunk,” I found
potential interview subjects from the following websites:
 http://brassgoggles.co.uk/blog/
 http://www.crabfu.com/
 http://www.drupagliassotti.com/
 http://www.ericfreitas.com/
 http://www.exoskeletoncabaret.com/
 http://herrdoktors.blogspot.com/
 http://steampunkscholar.blogspot.com/
 http://www.steampunkmagazine.com/
Akah Page 32
 http://www.steampunkworkshop.com/
From my indirect user research, I determined the Steampunks I wanted to speak to and observe
belonged to the following categories:
Artist
Skilled in imaginative, non-functioning art meant for personal satisfaction
Cosplayer
Skilled in creating imaginative fashion, assuming a fictional identity while dressing the part
Commentator
Interested in reporting trends, new projects; the “town criers” of the community
Inventor
Skilled in imaginative, potentially functioning art meant for experimentation and/or

exploration
Merchant
Interested in receiving payment for services and/or products
Scholar
Interested in studying the phenomenon of Steampunk itself
At the writing of this paper, I have only done autoethnography in terms of primary research, which
I highlight in the design research section. Despite this, I have a plan in place to interview and
observe Steampunks, which is available in Appendex 1. My interviews and observations will be
with the aforementioned categories of persons, hopefully in enough numbers to help me form a
solidly grounded theory.
Akah Page 33
DESIGN RESEARCH
As a spatial learner, I’ve utilized my creative talents

to visually represent my design research in a way
that I could understand it. I used affinity diagrams to
represent my literature review, group activities to
cover my blind spots when it came to human subjects
research data points, and used my graduate electives
course to explore the Steampunk aesthetic as
autoethnography. Please see Appendix 2 for photos of
my sketch book, where I did the majority of my
FIGURE 12: CARD SORTING HUMAN SUBJECT design thinking.
DATA POINTS
CARD SORT ACTIVITY
While I relied on my sketchbook extensively as a way to hone and rework my capstone, I also
utilized my classmates a good deal. As seen in Figure 12, I had a design session where I asked my
Lynn Dombrowski, Lorelei Kelly, and Drew McKinney to write answers to the following questions,
one answer per card:
1. What is the nature of the data?

2. What will I learn from the data?
3. What method should I use to retrieve the data?
Akah Page 34
These three questions were applied to such data sources as Flickr, Etsy, blogs, forums, conventions,
and others. My classmates were given approximately three minutes per data source, which forced
them to put down first impressions/gut instinct thoughts. This helped me determine what sort of
information I would get from existing data sources, thus whittling down the immense design space
into a more manageable one. This activity was immensely helpful because my classmates were able
to cover my blind spots by providing insightful ideas, as shown in Appendix 3.
AFFINITY DIAGRAM ACTIVITIES
While doing my literature review, I realized I had so many papers to reference that I was losing
sight of the information and how it could help my capstone. I utilized affinity diagrams to help me
determine where my project was heading, as shown in Figure 13. This affinity diagram helped me
realize that the majority of my readings focused on the relationship between identity and artifacts.
Figure 14 is a model of the different realms which defined my initial research.
Identity
Culture Research Artifacts
Services
FIGURE 13: INITIAL ACADEMIC AFFINITY FIGURE 14: MODEL OF INITIAL AFFINITY DIAGRAM
DIAGRAM
Akah Page 35
As I continued to read papers and pull quotations from

them, the document where I was throwing the
quotations became daunting. In order to understand
the relationships between the quotations so I could
write this paper, I spent a week working on Figures 15
– 17. Figure 15 shows my makeshift office at
Informatics East, where I had printed out 28 pages of
quotations and cut them into strips.
Figure 16 shows one of the nights where I worked on

assembling the literature review affinity diagram. FIGURE 15: SLICING THE QUOTATION
DOCUMENT FOR THE AFFINITY DIAGRAM
Figure 17 showcases the assembled quotations from
my literature review in a visual format, helping me
understand what I read, the relationships between
them, and where I need to strengthen my sources.
I am convinced I could not have written this paper

without doing this exercise. It allowed me to see
where my focus truly is, as well as the supporting
topics. It is, essentially, a visual outline of all the
supporting information, organized in a spatial way to
delineate the relationships between:
FIGURE 16: ASSEMBLING THE LITERATURE
 Personal identity REVIEW AFFINITY DIAGRAM
 Art, engagement and politics
 Materials, crafts, and tools
 Do-it-yourself and hackers
 Steampunk
 Artifacts and meaning
 Appropriation
Insights gathered from this exercise include the fact

that I feel as though I still don’t have enough
information on appropriation as defined within ACM
et al. From a visual standpoint, I have an entire poster
board of quotations about identity, half a poster
board of quotations about Steampunk, and perhaps FIGURE 17: SIX POSTER BOARDS OF
ASSEMBLED KNOWLEDGE!
three-eighths of a poster board of quotations about
appropriation.
Additionally, I feel I need to research customization so that I can strengthen my argument that
appropriation has more meaning than customization. There is half a poster board of space beneath
the appropriation quotations ready and waiting for more information.
Akah Page 36
AUTOETHNOGRAPHY
In terms of doing primary design research, I utilized my sketch book, as shown in Appendix 2. I also
performed autoethnography, which, as described by Spry, is a “self-narrative that critiques the
situatedness of self with others in social contexts.” This fits in with my social constructivist
understanding of the world, for, as Duncan said, there is “no one right form of knowledge, and
multiple viewpoints are acknowledged and valued.”
DO-IT-YOURSELF
To situate myself firmly in the Steampunk

do-it-yourself creative movement, I
gathered the following materials and
transformed them into a set of fake
Steampunk goggles.
 Safety goggles
 Bead containers
 Super glue
 Acrylic paint
 Time
From doing this activity, I realized that I

relied on the knowledge I had in order to
create the goggles. That is to say, I gathered FIGURE 18: FAKE STEAMPUNK GOGGLES
materials I was familiar with, and utilized
my previous knowledge of crafting in order to create me goggles. Therefore, it seems that what a
person brings to the object that is to be appropriated (safety goggles and bead containers in this
instance) is paramount.
CREATIVE APPROPRIATION UTILIZES EXISTING KNOWLEDGE FROM

THE CREATOR.
It also seems to me as though appropriation is very much something that can be taught. I grew up in
a household where we built anything we absolutely could not buy, in order to save money. This
included office furniture, kitchen tables, media centers, etc. Having grown up in a firmly established
do-it-yourself household, I have been unafraid to try new things by using familiar patterns from
previous projects. I recognize this same trait in my three younger siblings. As I have not performed
interviews of Steampunks yet, it is hard to say whether this is true across the board, however, it is
an interesting design insight.
CREATIVE APPROPRIATION IS NOT INTRINSIC TO A CERTAIN

PERSONALITY, IT CAN BE TAUGHT.
Akah Page 37
COSPLAY
Another facet of the Steampunk

movement is costume-play, also known
as cosplay. I put my fake Steampunk
goggles to use for my Halloween
costume, where I assumed the role of
Lady Almyra Gunn, Steampunk
Researcher, Scientist, and Explorer
Extraordinaire.
This exercise was to determine what it

felt like to play the role of a Steampunk.
The majority of clothing for the costume
was pulled from my closet, as I tend to
own a lot of military-style jackets, vests,
etc. As such, I felt comfortable even
though I was playing a role. I did buy
some vintage lockets and old keys to FIGURE 19: LADY ALMYRA GUNN, STEAMPUNK
dangle from my costume, and used a RESEARCHER, SCIENTIST, AND EXPLORER
childhood gift from my father, a Nigerian EXTRAORDINAIRE
purse, to solidify my explorer role.
Why did I choose the role of a researcher, scientist, and explorer? I chose that multi-faceted role
because that is who I am. I am a researcher on the hunt of Steampunks because they creatively
appropriate. I am a scientist, because I like to find patterns and be rigorous in my hunt for some
semblance of truth. I am an explorer, because I do not know where this capstone project is taking
me. So, even though I was playing a character, that character was still very much me.
ROLE-PLAYING ALLOWS FOR CREATIVE FREEDOM BECAUSE IT

REJECTS SOCIAL NORMS.
In addition to the above insight, cosplay is just plain fun. And who doesn’t like to have fun?
Akah Page 38
CREATIVE AESTHETIC MODIFICATION
FIGURE 21: STEAMPUNK SEWING MACHINE FIGURE 20: STEAMPUNK SEWING MACHINE
I used my elective ceramics course to explore the Steampunk visual aesthetic by imagining how a
sewing machine would look. While painting the machine, I imagined where it would rust due to
water exposure, where the pipes would have to run in order to keep the steam moving, etc.
Obviously, this machine does not actually work, since it is ceramic, i.e. glass. That said, it was a lot of
fun pushing my imagination to see what I could come up with while still maintaining a recognizable
shape and function.
IT IS A REWARDING CHALLENGE TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT

RETAINS A RECOGNIZABLE SHAPE AND FUNCTION.
There is a lot of care, struggle, frustration, and patience that goes into creative works. It is because
of the struggle that it means something in the long-run. I have memories of my sewing machine
cracking straight down the middle, the terror and panic that ensued, and the resulting relief and
pride that came from solving the problem.
PROBLEMS ARE TOLERABLE IF THERE IS A PERCEIVED SOLUTION.
Picture below is my non-functioning machine I

dubbed The Lazarus, whose sole purpose is to
transform Jell-O into Jell-O cupcakes, a dessert
my mother and I make for any and every
celebratory occasion. While this machine does
not work and is not based off any existing
machine, it has significant meaning to me.
 It is the first ceramics project that went

exactly as planned.
 It is meant to serve the dessert that
makes me think of my mother.
 It is a very Binaebi-distinct design, FIGURE 22: THE STEAMPUNK LAZARUS MACHINE
Akah Page 39
because the handles, “pipes,” lettering, etc, are motifs found in my other artwork pieces.
CREATIVE APPROPRIATION PUTS ONESELF INTO THE OBJECT.
The insights I gathered, therefore, from my autoethnographic exercises, as listed below.
 Creative appropriation utilizes existing knowledge from the creative appropriator.

 Creative appropriation is not intrinsic to a certain personality, it can be taught.
 Role-playing allows for creative freedom because it rejects social norms.
 It is a rewarding challenge to create something that retains a recognizable shape and
function.
 Problems are tolerable if there is a perceived solution.
 Creative appropriation puts oneself into the object.
Akah Page 40
CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK
Stay tuned for next semester, where Binaebi will attempt much derring-do and accomplish
scientific romances extraordinaire!
In all seriousness, because this is a research capstone, I do not feel I am at a place where I can make
conclusions yet. Please refer to my timeline and appendices for information about my future plans
with user research, et al.
Akah Page 41
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Akah Page 45
TIMELINE
In the spring, I plan to begin conducting interviews and observations with those engaged in the act
of, and commentary about, creative appropriation:
 Artists; skilled in imaginative, non-functioning art meant for personal satisfaction

 Cosplayers; skilled in creating imaginative fashion, assuming a fictional identity while
dressing the part
 Commentators; interested in reporting trends, new projects, essentially the “town criers” of
the community
 Inventors; skilled in imaginative, potentially functioning art meant for experimentation
and/or exploration
 Merchants; interested in receiving payment for services and/or products
 Scholars; interested in studying the phenomenon of Steampunk itself
I hope to receive IRB approval so I can begin contacting, interviewing, and potentially observing
Steampunks to get a better understanding of how and why they appropriate certain objects, and
how this act can reflect and influence their personal identity.
While interviews and observations are occurring, I will continue exploring the relationship between
appropriation and identity through sketches of the relationship and the factors that influence it.
These sketches should help me crystallize a design theory and/or framework about appropriation.
Once interviews are complete, I will solidify my theory and provide a few concepts which exemplify
it. I will ask for a group of faculty and peers to critique my concepts and theory.
Relying on the feedback from the critique session, I will select at most three concepts to iterate
upon. The resulting concepts will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the design
theory/framework I postulate.
Akah Page 46
An estimated task flow for the spring semester is shown below.
Insights Framework Interviews Insights
Concept
Framework Concepts Iteration
system
Presentation Celebrate
Akah Page 47
APPENDIX 1: PRIMARY USER RESEARCH PLAN
DATA POINTS
Autoethnography, blog posts and their comments, merchant websites, Flickr photo galleries, online
forums, independent magazines containing fiction, how-to, and imagery. The purpose of gathering
this information is to gain a holistic understanding of the Steampunk culture.
I will perform autoethnography because I am already involved in the crafting and DIY movements
that also defines a large portion of the Steampunk population. By adapting my interest in historical
fashion, science fiction, and DIY crafting, I hope to gain additional insights into the overlap between
the act of appropriation and identity through my experiences.
Online information such as blog posts and their comments, merchant websites, Flickr photo
galleries, and forums provide publicly available information to help understand the history and
trends of Steampunk. Many of these online interactions showcase the communal identity, and how
DIY and appropriation has become a part of what was originally a literary movement.
Information from independent magazines showcase who are considered the "big names" in the
culture, provides definitions and articles, and self-reflective commentary which is integral to
understanding the individual and communal identity of Steampunks.
PRIVACY
Information will be protected by utilizing identifiers for each interview subject, such as "P1" for the
first interview subject, "P2" for the second, and so on.
Any recorded information will be kept in a secure location and de-identified when possible. Photos
will be scrubbed of recognizable information, as the purpose of the study is to learn about the act of
Akah Page 48
appropriation and how it reflects/influences the formation of identity, not to gather recognizable
information about the interview subject.
Contact information will be kept for the length of the study in the case that additional information is
required of the interview subject. Typically, an interview will happen once, and the interview
subject will only be contacted later if additional clarification is required.
Only the information volunteered will be collected, and only such information that pertains to the
formation of personal identity, how the interview subject relates to their objects, and how the
subject has appropriated said objects, i.e. the act of creating a bond/connection with the object.
INCLUSION CRITERIA
The inclusion criteria for this study is people who practice the crafting/invention/creation of
Steampunk artifacts, or who comment on the crafting/inventing/creating of such artifacts.
Categories of desired persons include:
 Artists; skilled in imaginative, non-functioning art meant for personal satisfaction

 Cosplayers; skilled in creating imaginative fashion, assuming a fictional identity while
dressing the part
 Commentators; interested in reporting trends, new projects, essentially the “town criers” of
the community
 Inventors; skilled in imaginative, potentially functioning art meant for experimentation
and/or exploration
 Merchants; interested in receiving payment for services and/or products
 Scholars; interested in studying the phenomenon of Steampunk itself
RESEARCH PLAN
There are two sources of data for the proposed research: publicly available data (via blog posts,
Flickr, forum posting, etc.) and data obtained from interacting with human subjects.
PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATA PROCEDURE
First, aggregate information (articles, photos, posts, comments, etc) from blogs, Flickr feeds, Etsy
merchants, and the like in order to understand the Steampunk culture. This is to learn the diction,
popular themes, social issues, perceptions of self and the community. This provides insights into the
study's domain, specifically how persons involved in the Steampunk movement represent
themselves publicly, which can lead to insights about how they form their personal identity.
Then, go back over the aggregated information for information about the artifacts created. Are
some objects more "Steampunk-able" than others? Why is that? How does this reflect the
relationship between personal identity, communal identity, and technology? Has the appropriation
process been documented? How? How does this reflect the identity of the persons involved? How
does this reflect/influence the community identity?
Akah Page 49
HUMAN SUBJECTS DATA PROCEDURE
Information will be gathered using interviews and observations. Interviews will take place over
Gtalk, Skype, phone, or in-person, whichever is most convenient for the subject. The interview will
take no more than an hour, unless it leads to a conversation that extends past this time and both
subject and the researcher agree to continue talking. If the subject agrees to being observed, then
the observation procedure will take two hours. It will consist of an hour-long interview followed by
an observation.
The researchers will engage in semi-structured interviews, meaning there will be a list of questions
available, but the structure will be primarily conversational. The interview will begin with general
questions about the subject's understanding and interpretation of Steampunk, how they came to
that conclusion, etc. From there, the researcher will ask about the subject's role in the Steampunk
culture.
If the subject is an artist, cosplayer, inventor, and/or merchant, then the interview will discuss
tools, projects, materials, etc, how it relates to the subject's understanding and interpretation of
Steampunk, and how it helps the subject define their personal identity, if it does.
If the subject is a commentator or scholar, then the interview will discuss sources, interests, how
the subject determines definitions and themes, and how this reflects/influences the subject's
personal identity, if it does.
During the interviews, the researchers might record using audio recording tools, and/or video
recording software. Researchers will also take notes and ask for copies of any documentation the
subject collected about their creative process.
If the subject is an artist, cosplayer, inventor, and/or merchant, and lives/works within a 100 mile
radius of Bloomington, Indiana, they may be considered for observation as they work on creative
projects.
If granted permission to be observed, then the observation will occur at the subject's place of
residence/workshop. The observation will begin with the interview procedure listed above, so that
the researcher may get to know the subject as a person. After the hour-long interview, the
researcher will ask to observe the subject working on a current or new project.
The observation will consist of video and audio recording, with a researcher taking notes silently.
The researcher may ask for photographs documenting the subject's process. The researcher may
also ask a minimal number of questions for clarification behind an action. The observation will not
be participatory, in that the researcher will not aid the subject in any way. The researcher will
merely make note of the subject's habits and how they represent the subject's identity as a creative
person, as reflected in the interview.
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
 Tell us a bit about yourself and background

 How long have you been involved with Steampunk?
 What is your inspiration?
 Which Steampunk artifact (you made) do you cherish the most? Why?
Akah Page 50
 What is Steampunk to you? How did you come to this definition?

 How did you get started in Steampunk?
 Why does Steampunk interest you?
 How do you define what you do? Artistry? Craft? DIY? Something else? Why?
 Why do you work with the particular medium that you do? How does it make you feel? How did
you get started in the particular medium?
 What are the tools you use? Can you tell me about them? Which is your favorite? Why? Which is
your least favorite? Why?
 Which tool do you use the most often? Make I take a photo of you with your favorite tool? Your
least favorite? The one you use the most often?
 What is your favorite end product? Why?
 Can you describe the creation process to me? How do you begin a project?
 How do you feel your craft fits with Steampunk? If it doesn’t fit, why do you feel that way?
 Do you communicate with anyone about Steampunk? How? Why?
 How would you describe the Steampunk community?
 Are you close with anyone that you met through the Steampunk community? How did that
happen?
 Who do you think are the big names in Steampunk? Why?
 Is there a hierarchy within the Steampunk community? Where do you fit in?
Akah Page 51
APPENDIX 2: SKETCHNOTES
During this capstone project, I learned that I am a spatial learner. I took advantage of this epiphany,
as shown in my design research section. This appendix contains all the sketchnotes related to this
project. I feel naked without my sketchbook, and if I have problems working through an idea, I have
to sketch it out. These photos are in chronological order, from least-to-most recent.
Akah Page 52
Akah Page 53
Akah Page 54
Akah Page 55
Akah Page 56
Akah Page 57
Akah Page 58
Akah Page 59
Akah Page 60
Akah Page 61
Akah Page 62
Akah Page 63
Akah Page 64
Akah Page 65
APPENDIX 3: CARD SORTING ACTIVITY
The data gathered from the November 3, 2009 card sorting activity where I worked with Lynn
Dombrowski, Lorelei Kelly, and Drew McKinney.
Data source Data retrieved Learned information Retrieval

method
Autoethnography Phenomenological Is this something you see as Walking probes
experience important for the world
Insight into personal meaning
Connection through personal Contextual
meaning-making inquiry
Is this something important for the
world
What interests you?
Why do you care?
Brass Goggles Showcased thoughts, Make connection with "expert"
(blog) opinions, etc
Works-in-progress, Analysis of their process, attitudes,
how-to goals, challenges and changes
Comments Community interactions
Links between blogs Community interactions
Inspiration citations Community interactions
Text analysis Diction, perceptions of self,
community, relations with others
Conventions People observations What they wear Ethnography
Akah Page 66

method
Intimate connections How they address one another Contextual
inquiry
Stories What they find interesting Interviews
Photographs Popular themes Walking probes
Videos Social issues
Brochures, programs What's important to them
Richer view of how Steampunk fits
into their larger lives
Etsy merchants Merchandise, popular Differences between what people
styles, what is selling buy vs what they make for
themselves
Itemized What do people on Etsy think is
lists/"treasuries" meaningful?
What is an interesting grouping of
items?
Showcased artifact Externalized image/perceptions of
collection the trend
Understand where demand exists
(voting)
Favorites What people want to buy but
perhaps don't; tells you what matters
to them
Descriptions of Diction, perceptions of self,
artifacts perceptions of object, perceptions of
trend
Flickr Photos, short videos, What kinds of objects do people Group/analyze
descriptions modify? Are some more "Steampunk- photos based on
able" than others? artifact type
Steampunk "in action" Are there meaningful/significant
absences in the types of objects
people modify?
Comments, Do projects inspire other projects?
descriptions, any pools Do people attribute their influences
the photo belongs to and inspirations? Do the comments
reveal how their work is valued by
others?
Categories of objects Work that is considered a finished
modified/created product, rather than WIP…
Level of craftsmanship Tools, artifacts, people
Community involvement
Lifestyle analysis (do they live with
mom?)
Online forums Comments, threads, Information sharing with individuals
sticky topics
Akah Page 67

method
Images Relationship with expert
Links to other forums, Community opinions, relations,
blogs, websites, etc hierarchy?
Trending topics Interests, frustrations, non-
Steampunk existence
How-to, help Cultural situatedness
Community polling
Desired tools, favorite tools
Understanding craft
Understanding self-perception
What's popular, controversial, getting
attention, etc
Understanding the Do people meet face-to-face? Do
community they have close social interactions in
the forums? Talk about aspects of
their lives outside Steampunk? Is the
tone civil? Is there trolling?
Steampunk Articles, images, how- Culture, what they're about, how
magazine to, poetry, fiction they define Steampunk
History of Steampunk Self-perception, self-impression,
scene reactions to external
perceptions/impressions
Opinions
Evangelism
Aesthetics - what kind of style/mood
are the pieces embodying
Names, emails of Who is involved? Who are the
writers/contributors writers? Who/what are they writing
about?
Akah Page 68

Brass Goggles and Lace: Personal Identity Through Creative Appropriation

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BRASS GOGGLES AND LACE

PERSONAL IDENTITY THROUGH THE ACT OF CREATIVE APPROPRIATION

BINAEBI AKAH | DECEMBER 2009

Figure 1: Relationship between identity and appropriation ............................................................................... 10

WHY IS APPROPRIATION IMPORTANT?

FIGURE 1: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IDENTITY AND APPROPRIATION

Appropriation happens in multiple realms, from bodily appropriation (piercings, tattoos), to

WHY STUDY STEAMPUNK AS A CASE STUDY OF APPROPRIATION?

Steampunk is a “non-luddite critique of technology” (Catastrophone). Persons involved in the

APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

In terms of direct user research, I performed autoethnography, as I am a member of the creative,

Halloween costume where I adopted a Steampunk researcher-scientist-explorer-extraordinaire

According to my research, identity is a hot topic in the psychology, sociology, anthropology,

FIGURE 2: IDENTITY REPRESENTS SELF, BUT ISN’T NECESSARILY SELF

as a persisting entity; individuality. (5) Information, such as an identification number, used

Merriam-Webster: (1a) Sameness of essential or generic character in different instances.

Wikipedia (philosophy): identity (also called sameness) is whatever makes an entity

1 Free Dictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/identity

1. Self as synonym for person,

 Independent: internally-defined through thoughts and feelings, separate from social

5 Wikipedia (social science): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_%28social_science%29

WORKING DEFINITION OF IDENTITY

See below for a visual representation of this definition.

FIGURE 3: VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF PERSONAL IDENTITY

Merriam-Webster’s definition highlights the importance of redefining the use of an object by

Wikipedia: Appropriation is the act of taking possession of or assigning purpose to

8 Free Dictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/appropriate

HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION DEFINITIONS

A PPROPRIATION AS T EMPORAL E XPERIENCE

WORKING DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATION

See below for a visual representation of this definition.

FIGURE 4: VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF APPROPRIATION

WHY LOOK AT THE CRAFTING ASPECTS OF STEAMPUNK?

1. Bodily appropriation: identity by tattooing the human body

Contrariwise, a blog collecting the photos and stories of

The story associated with this particular tattoo (shown

This tattoo, in comparison to other “so it goes” tattoos,

Another Contrariwise find, the literary tattoo shown in

The poem is about the troubling reality Bukowski finds

APPROPRIATION OF THE EVERYDAY

Design Sponge, a blog dedicated to “reviews,

This everyday appropriation of the toilet paper roll

Another Design Sponge find showcases the

What might have been considered an old chair

FIGURE 8: APPROPRIATING AN OFFICE CHAIR

Ran Hwang’s work, showcased in Figure 9, utilizes

It is pointillism, but rather than using tiny dots of

16 Design Sponge: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/12/before-after-wills-chair-autumns-

Figure 10 showcases a bracelet created by the Etsy

“Constructed entirely of vintage elements, this is

A partial 1940s-era Ruby jeweled watch movement

All are mounted on a vintage brass cuff bracelet of

While the Steampunk appropriation is, perhaps, a

This USB device was created by Will Rockwell, an

Skilled in imaginative, non-functioning art meant for personal satisfaction

Skilled in imaginative, potentially functioning art meant for experimentation and/or

Interested in receiving payment for services and/or products

Interested in studying the phenomenon of Steampunk itself

As a spatial learner, I’ve utilized my creative talents

CARD SORT ACTIVITY

1. What is the nature of the data?

AFFINITY DIAGRAM ACTIVITIES