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370 Pages·2014·5.44 MB·English

EPIC Board of Directors
ken anderson, Intel Corporation, President
Tracey Lovejoy, Microsoft Corporation, Secretary
Ed Liebow, Battelle Memorial Institute, Treasurer
Melissa Cefkin, IBM, President-elect

EPIC Advisory Committee
Jacob Buur, U Copenhagen
Christina Wasson, U North Texas
Chris Miller, Savannah College of Art and Design
Donna Flynn, Microsoft
Elizabeth Anderson Kempe, Artemis By Design
Jeanette Blomberg, IBM
Alexandra Mack, Pitney Bowes
Tony Salvador, Intel
Rick E. Robinson, HLB
Martha Cotton, gravitytank
T
he National Association for the Practice of Anthropology (NAPA) is pleased to
welcome you to this 6th annual Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference. NAPA is a section of
the American Anthropological Association and supports the work of practicing anthropology by
helping practitioners refine their skills, develop their careers, and market their services,
www.practicinganthropology.org
Mary Odell Butler – President Kalfani Ture – Governing Council
Dennis Wiedman – Past President Eve Pinsker – Evaluation Anthropology Interest Group
Tim Wallace – President-Elect Gelya Frank - Occupational Therapy Interest Group
Christine Miller – Secretary Lenora Bohren – Evaluation Task Force
John Massad–Treasurer Christine Miller–Design Anthro Interest Group
Cathleen Crain – Governing Council Ellen Puccia – Local Practitioner Organizations
Sabrina Scott – Governing Council David Himmelgreen and Satish Kedia, NAPA
Bulletin Editors
T
he American Anthropological Association, the primary professional society of anthropologists in
the United States since its founding in 1902, is the world's largest professional organization of
individuals interested in anthropology.

Virginia Dominguez, U Illinois – President
Leith Mullings, CUNY Graduate Center, President-Elect
Deb Martin, U Nevada Las Vegas, Secretary
Ed Liebow, Battelle - Treasurer
George Armelagos, Emory U
Florence Babb, Univ Florida
Lee D Baker, Duke U
Charles Briggs, Univ California - Berkeley
TJ Ferguson
Laura Graham, U Iowa
Mary Gray, Indiana U
Hugh Gusterson, George Mason U
Gwendolyn Mikell, Georgetown U
Jason Miller, U South Florida
Nan Rothschild, Columbia U
Jean Schensul, Inst Community Research
Katherine Spielmann, Arizona State U

American Anthropological Association
2200 Wilson Blvd, Suite 600 • Arlington, VA 22201
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phone [phone]; fax [phone]
www.aaanet.org
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Conference Organizers’ Welcome
As we enter into a new decade we want to focus on defining the practice from within, exploring
different applications of ethnography in industry and defining as a community what the future will
hold for us. We are delighted that you can join us at EPIC2010 in Tokyo, one of the most innovative,
but also most traditional cities in the world, perfect setting for exploring, learning, discussing, reflecting
and defining “the way of Ethnography”.
道 Dō captures the sense of individual mastery that is achieved only with the help of a community
and its rich heritage. 道 Dō implies a body of knowledge and tradition with an ethic and an aesthetic.
道 Dō is the "path" we have travelled and also the way ahead of us.
道 Dō in ethnography symbolizes the dynamic between ethnography's internal strengths (its
essence, our values, its heritage, its rigor and disciplined approach) and its applications to the world (to
enhancement of people's lives, to innovation, to transformation of industries, to business growth). It is
the "path" we have come from but also the way ahead of us.
"Do" in English represents action, execution and optimism. 道 Dō in Japanese is a call for
growth, maturity and proficiency, recognizing our past and visualizing the future. It is a vision of
what's ahead of us.
EPIC 2010 features a wide range of ethnographic applications in industry, different "ways"
forward. Ethnographic praxis in industry is global in scope, but adapted to different geographies (Asia,
Latin America, Middle East, Europe, North America), different contexts (academia, business, NGO’s,
government), different industries (technology, healthcare, consumer goods, advertising) and different
purposes (product innovation, strategy, interorganizational collaboration, communications, policy
making).
Tokyo is the ideal setting for EPIC 2010. Tokyo is a world city, where innovation and tradition
thrive. It is home to different 道 Dō, including sa Dō (way of tea), ka Dō (way of flower) and sho Dō
(way of writing), and these 道 Dōs urge us to aspire for innovation within these traditions, see them as
platforms for creative expression, and not simply assimilate them.
Our program features different aspects of Ethnography 道 Dō:
• normativity: Quality standards, best practices, proficiency/mastering the discipline,
benchmarks, rigorous process/outcomes.
• specialization: Inclusion of new disciplines to enrich the practice, new contexts/applications
of ethnographic praxis, new ways to do ethnography (online ethnography, etc.)
• transmissivity: Taking to new heights, exploring new territories, opening doors, spreading
the value of ethnography, communicating results in new ways.
• authoritativeness: Tradition, recognition, acknowledgment /appraisal of the past, and solid
foundations, deep reflection for inner strength and energy.
• universality: Optimism, human values, path towards the future, balancing science + art,
growth, innovation to be prepared for what's next.
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In Thanks
We owe particular gratitude to the attendees and presenters of EPIC 2010. Their participation, in
its many rich and engaged forms, contributes to the discourse of ethnographic praxis in industry and is
helping to build a vibrant and valued community.
Our deepest appreciation goes to an energetic team of local supporters who contributed great
ideas and tireless energy to the effort of making this conference happen. This year we were invited to
tour a number of Masters’ studios, and we are most grateful for opening their doors to us. We would
also like to express our thanks to the 2010 EPIC program committee for their efforts in continuing to
push at the boundaries of this emergent domain and for helping to facilitate a high quality and
rewarding experience. The EPIC advisory committee deserves a round of applause for its on-going
support and guidance in making EPIC stronger each year. In addition, we’d like to thank all the
reviewers for their tireless efforts in evaluating the submissions and providing feedback to authors.
We would like to acknowledge the generous support of our corporate and institutional sponsors,
Intel, Fujitsu, Microsoft, Osaka Gas, the MIT Press, IBM, in/situm, Hakuhodo, Denstu, Swinburne
University of Technology, Microsoft Research, gravitank, infield design, Palo Alto Research Center,
Battelle, Ethnography.Com, Razorfish, Pitney-Bowes, Daishinsha, Solutions Space, Idiom, and the
American Anthropological Association and the National Association for Practicing Anthropologists
for their contributions of people and financial resources. Without their support EPIC 2010 would not
have occurred.
Please enjoy these proceedings and consider bringing the conversations they inspire in you as you
read through to EPIC2011. We look forward to your participation in next year’s EPIC conference!

Luis Arnal Simon Pulman-Jones Hiroshi Tamura
EPIC 2010 Co-Organizer EPIC 2010 Co-Organizer EPIC 2010 Co-Organizer
in/situm GfK Hakuhodo
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Local Organizing Committee Welcome

The start of this new decade marks an exciting departure for EPIC, as the 6th International
Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference, moves beyond the west for the first time, and comes to
Tokyo. Welcome to EPIC 2010 in the heart of Tokyo - in the aptly named Tokyo Midtown!
EPIC brings a groundswell to Asia, where ethnographic praxis is receiving serious attention as a
vibrant approach to human-centric innovation. This year’s conference also, I believe, sets a new agenda
for the EPIC community.
The theme of this EPIC is “Dō: The Way of Ethnography.” Dō is a particular philosophy in Japan
and Korea. While Dō suggests a system of mastery in a specific practice, it is not necessarily limited to
classic skills acquisition. Rather, a master of Dō always ushers in breakthroughs to its tradition. A
primary reason, I believe, is the cultural inclusion of contingency—the status of propositions that are
neither true nor false under every possible valuation. Let’s consider Japan’s practice of enshrinement,
for instance. Shinto practitioners worship a set of spirits called Yaoyorozu and, at the same time, take
good care of shrines as religious sites. A shrine is built to appeal to deities but not necessarily to ensure
those presences. Here, then, the center of Japan’s value system is often empty, and, therefore, its
universality means that we infuse different propositions into the center in line with the times.
The other agenda of EPIC 2010 is thus that ethnographic praxis meets the emptiness. In other
words, I expect a variety of propositions to be brought, vibrant discussions made, and a new
ethnographic Dō constituted in the hollow. Let’s share the creative experience. Let’s add a page to the
history of ethnographic praxis in industry together!
Hiroshi Tamura (Co-chair and Local Committee Co-chair)

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Conference Organization

EPIC2010 Co-Chairs: Local Committee:
Luis Arnal, in/situm (Mexico, Local Co-chairs
Brazil) Hiroshi Tamura, Hakuhodo
Simon Pulman-Jones, GFK Kazuo Asakawa, Fujitsu Labs
(UK)
Hiroshi Tamura, Hakuhodo Vice-Chair/Design
(Japan) Chiho Sasaki, infield design

Papers Advisory
Izabel Barros, Steelcase (USA, Takeru Nagaoka, Sanno Univ
Brazil) Haruhito Matsunami (Osaka Gas, L-
Makiko Taniguchi, IDEO NET)
(China)
Rogério de Paula, Intel (Brazil) Public Relations
Armin Moehrle, Toca (USA) Yasunobu Ito (Japan Advanced
Institute of Science and Technology)
Artifacts Minoru Sekiguchi, Fujitsu Labs
Carl Kay, Daishinsha (Japan) Tamami Sugasaka, Fujitsu Labs

Workshops Local arrangements
John Payne, Moment (USA) Hironori Iwasaki, Hakuhodo
Sonia Manchanda, Idiom (India) Mizuki Oka, Univ Tokyo

Panels Events
Rich Radka, Claro Partners Aya Kubosumi, Osaka Gas, L-NET
(Spain) Ryo Miyamoto, Konica Minolta
Technology Center
Pecha Kucha Aico Shimizu, Hakuhodo
Dave McCaughan, McCann Wakako Kitamura, Daishinsha
(Japan)
Secretaries
Proceedings Kouji Aoyama, Fujitsu Labs
Ed Liebow, Battelle (USA) Takanori Ugai, Fujitsu Labs
Inga Treitler, Anthropology
Imagination (USA)
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Conference Sponsors
PLATINUM

Intel Corporation

Fujitsu Laboratories

GOLD

Microsoft Corporation

Osaka Gas

MIT Press – International Journal
of Learning and Media

SILVER
IBM
in/situm
Hakuhodo
Dentsu
Swinburne University of Technology
JADE
Microsoft Research
Gravitytank
Infield Design
Palo Alto Research Center
CORAL
Battelle Health and Life Sciences
Daishinsha
Ethnography.com
Idiom
Pitney Bowes
Razorfish
Solutions Space

ORGANIZATIONAL SPONSORS
American Anthropological Association
iSchool at the University of Tokyo
JIDPO – Japan Industrial Design
Promotion Organization
National Association for the Practice of
Anthropology
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