This dissertation investigates aesthetics of engagement in -interaction. Aesthetic refers to the aesthetic experience, based on a phenomenological and pragmatist understanding: dynamic and personal, appealing mutually to - and formed inseparably by - our bodily, emotional, as well as intellectual faculties. Engagement signifies this experience as forming a deeply involved relationship between people and an artefact in interaction. The theoretical background upon which this work is based, asserts that we perceive the world in terms of how we can act in it. Action, through the body, is how we make sense of the world around us. To be congruent with these foundations and the topic at hand means that the research program was investigated through a constructive design research process. The research program anchors and outlines the goal of this investigation: to contribute shareable knowledge of how to design for aesthetic engagement in interaction by leveraging a first-person -perspective. The findings of this research form two contributions to the overlapping fields of Human-Computer Interaction and (Interaction) Design Research. The main contribution is methodological and is concerned with generating knowledge through design. The methodological structure of this dissertation builds on a programmatic approach that centres on the first-person perspective of the designer, who learns from experience by reflecting on design action. Such an approach is fundamental to the design tradition, but its dependency on subjectivity is also a source of epistemological conflict since design, as mode of inquiry, matures and comes in contact with more established disciplines that have their own academic traditions. For design research, to develop its own intellectual culture, alternative and bidirectional relationships between theory and practice need to be further shaped, articulated, and debated in the field. This dissertation contributes to this discussion around designerly ways of knowing by exposing how skillful coping and intuition, through mechanisms of reflection-on-action, generate a multitude of perspectives on a complex design space. These perspectives reveal parts of the complexity of designing for aesthetic engagement, while leaving it intact. Exposing and consolidating the first-person (design) knowledge embedded in these perspectives allows this knowledge to be articulated as a shareable academic knowledge contribution. This shareable knowledge forms the second contribution of this dissertation. Reflections on the process and results of eight constructive design research projects describe a design space around aesthetic engagement. Individual reflections are consolidated into themes that describe how a design may elicit aesthetic engagement in interaction. These themes are experiential qualities: conceptual values that can be leveraged for a design to appeal to both mind and body in ways that are rich, open-ended and ambiguous. The findings propose strategies for interactions with digital technologies to open up the complexity of relations in the world between artefacts and people. Designing for aesthetics of engagement proposes ways to respect people’ skills in making sense of the complexity of the lived world. In respecting the uniqueness of their body and the subjectivity of their experiences, to design for aesthetic engagement is to support the expression of personal points of view in interaction. This points to ways in which designers can open up interactions with digital technologies to be more beautiful, respectful, and liveable, as it touches what makes us human: our personal being in the world.

This master thesis investigates studies on fashion oriented people according to the "Outfit-Centric Accessories" concept. The outfit-centric accessories concept originated from recent research study by Juhlin and Zhang (2011) about mobile phone representation in fashion and Aesthetic of Interaction area of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). The term outfit-centric accessories originated from clothing and wearer. In this concept an outfit is playing a role as the centerpiece and a mobile phone is functioning as a sort of an accessory that can be added to an outfit. The main aim here is to explore design solution for matching the visual appearance of mobile device with different outfit of a person. The first phase of this thesis is based on a research conducted through a literature review on the Aesthetic Interaction and the Experience-Centered design approach. Literature study has been followed by studies the relation between the fashion and technology and the outfit-centric accessories concept precisely. The findings that are presented here are based on field studies on fashion oriented people who are interested in mobile phone design. Filed studies were conducted through gathering input entries from social networking services such as Facebook and Blogger, survey of questionnaire on outfit matching mechanism, and inquiring people around. The findings are described the outfit "Match Mechanism" and the "social activities around the outfit matching" in relation to the concept. These descriptions have led the project to the system design and development phase regarding the outfit-centric accessories concept. This phase resulted in the Android based mobile application named "Mobile Fashion". This application enables a user to match a mobile device with variety of clothing in the form of a background image, cover, or printable sticker (skin phone) and it allows a user to participate in social services by sharing the look with others. It is worth mentioning that "Mobile Fashion" application presented in Vinnova-nytt (June 2011, No.3, p15) and International Joint Conference on Ambient Intelligent (AmI'11 November, 16, 2011, Amsterdam) (see appendix 14 and 15).

This thesis begins by underlining the current methods and procedures in design evaluation as well as how design aesthetics is generally assessed. Then, it suggests the revision of current web design evaluation practices. The thesis explores a new method of incorporating Löwgren’s aesthetics of interaction attributes to help facilitate more eventful conversations within inter- and cross-departmental discussions, with the belief that such a process will manifest into more favorable design results and prevent friction during collaborative work due to incompatibility in technical jargon.