Humans are experiencing both anxiety and hopelessness regarding how they, as individuals, can affect positive change to mitigate climate change in complex human-made systems. This exploratory design research investigates how data drawings, created from personal, place-based observations of nature, can enhance human-nature connection and sensemaking in the Anthropocene.

We propose data drawings as a design method for surfacing human-nonhuman tensions towards posthuman design thinking. For five weeks, Sherry Hsi, an American colleague, and I exchanged weekly postcards from Portugal to the USA. Through this experiment, we explored human-nature data reflections collectively to decenter the human in design. This first humble step towards non-anthropocentric design could lead to insights into post-humanist design thinking and the role of the human (and more-than-human) in designed systems.

Dear Nature is an experiment conducted by two design researchers who share an interest in HCI, design, making, and planetary health. Together, we position ourselves as active but humble observers of the human-nature tensions around us. Through deliberate pause, reflection, and connection, our data drawing method emerges as a form of design in deliberation with ourselves and our environment. Explore our paper to learn more.