Design Research · Memory · Photography
Research
"How can the design of intentionally constrained photographic technologies influence attention and memory formation in contexts of digital image abundance?"
Over the past two decades, digital technologies have profoundly transformed the ways individuals record, store, and revisit personal memories. Smartphones now function as vast personal archives, yet many images remain unseen long after the moment of capture.
This research investigates how intentionally constrained photographic devices can reshape the relationship between photography, attention, and memory. Positioned at the intersection of design research, human-computer interaction, and digital media studies, it treats designed artifacts as epistemic tools - ways of asking questions that cannot be asked through words alone.
H1 · Intentional Selection
Technological constraints increase intentional image selection during photographic capture.
H2 · Attentional Engagement
The absence of instant visual feedback increases attentional engagement with the present moment.
H3 · Reflective Recollection
Delayed image revelation strengthens reflective recollection of past experiences.
Projects
Primary Prototype
A screenless photographic device limited to thirty-six images. Photographs remain invisible during capture and are revealed only once the full roll is completed. The delay between capture and revelation is intentionally unpredictable: it may span a few days, several weeks, or several months. Images are then printed and returned to the user. By introducing temporal uncertainty and constrained capacity as deliberate design decisions, FOCUS explores whether technological friction can encourage more intentional photographic practices and deeper memory formation.
Prototype developed · User studies in progress
Experimental Device
A device that transforms a written memory into a unique abstract image printed on thermal paper. The user writes three words and selects an associated emotion; an algorithm generates an organic, wave-based composition that functions as a visual trace of the recollection. The project asks: how can a memory be made tangible without being made photographic?
In development
Installation
An anonymous memory exchange installation. Participants write a personal memory on a slip of paper and draw one written by a stranger. The project investigates the social and emotional dimensions of shared recollection, what intimacy emerges between people who will never meet, bound only by a memory held in common.
Concept · In development
Writing
Master's Thesis · Strate École de Design, Lyon · 2025
How does the omnipresence of digital photographs influence the quality of visual memory and our relationship to the past? Through field research, semi-structured interviews across three generations, and an extensive literature review, this thesis examines the paradox of digital memory: while enabling the preservation of more moments than ever before, digital archives may simultaneously weaken the depth and intentionality of personal recollection.
Read moreEssay · 2025
An academic essay examining how digital technologies function as external memory systems, the paradox of image abundance, and the role of design in shaping the qualitative experience of remembering. Drawing on the Extended Mind theory (Clark and Chalmers, 1998), slow technology (Hallnäs and Redström, 2001), and digital memory studies (van Dijck, 2007; Hoskins, 2018).
Read moreKey References
About
I am a French design researcher working at the intersection of human-computer interaction, design research, and digital memory studies. My practice combines conceptual inquiry with the development of experimental physical prototypes, objects that function both as design artifacts and as research instruments.
My work is grounded in a Research through Design methodology, treating designed artifacts as epistemic tools: ways of asking questions that cannot be asked through words alone. I am particularly interested in how technological constraints can reshape human behavior, attention, and the experience of remembering.
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