‘Investigating the potential of sensory augmentation to bridge the sensory gap between deaf and hearing.’
Michel Witter, with a foundation in computer science and digital art, integrates technology and art in education. As a tutor since 2002 at Communication & Multimedia Design program of Avans, he specializes in information design and accessibility. Currently, Michel is researching sensory augmentation for his PhD.
Stemming from his background in technical computer science and digital art, Michel Witter’s practice is situated in the intersection between art and technology. In the early 1990s he experimented with Internet technology at the SCAN / Media-GN institute in Groningen. He was also involved in some of the first e-commerce websites in the Netherlands.
Michel developed education for years at various institutions in the field of multimedia. He has been a tutor at the Communication & Multimedia Design programme since 2002, and teaches interaction, UX, information design and accessibility for a variety of media. Michel Witter is part of the tutor team of new Master track ‘Health by Design’ of the MA program of the Master Institute of Visual Cultures (MIVC). The MIVC is part of Avans University of Applied Sciences.
In 2016, during his master’s in Media Innovation, he immersed himself in designing wearable technology from the point of view of pure experience. Michel has begun a PhD research into situated design methods that enable interaction designers in designing effective interfaces for sensory augmentation.
The past years, Michel has made several appearances at the Sencity festival in Utrecht. There, for instance, he did an experiment with the Tactile Feedback Belt and conducted pilot studies in co-design with deaf and hearing people for his PhD research. In 2024, he presented his research at the Science Lab of Sencity.
After his first publication
, he investigated the accessibility and inclusivity of a co-design workshop with both deaf and hearing people in Kunsthal Rotterdam. This, because no research yet exists on co-design practices in which deaf and hearing people work together. Findings from this research will help better shape future co-design sessions. Currently, he is setting up a study where the perceived perceptability of diverse sensory augmentation configurations is being examined.
With his PhD research, Michel’s aim is to support the future design of sensory augmentation for sensory-diverse people. With his situated research, involving cutting-edge technology aimed at improving a wellbeing issue and applying an inclusive approach within design research, Michel hopes to be an inspiring example of the value of cross-linking between knowledge domains.
Embodied Interaction
This research focuses on the design of tactile interfaces, using sensor technology.
re:MakingSense (2021)
Bringing the sensory augmentation community together
Publications
Witter, M. (2024, April) What if you had an extra sense? Mini-lecture at Science Lab, Sencity Festival, Utrecht.
Witter, M., de Rooij, A., van Dartel, M. & Krahmer, E. (nov. 2022) Bridging a sensory gap between deaf and hearing people–A plea for a situated design approach to sensory augmentation, PERSPECTIVE article, in Frontiers in Computer Science.
Witter, M. (2020) Gesitueerde ontwerpmethoden voor het ontwerp van Sensory Substitution toepassingen voor mensen met een zintuiglijke beperking, Promotiebeurs voor leraren, NWO.
Witter, M. & Calvi, L. (2017), Enabling Augmented Sense-Making (and Pure Experience) with Wearable Technology, In Y. Chisik, J. Holopainen, R. Khaled, J.L. Silva & P.A. Silva (Eds.) Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering (LNICST) 215: Intelligent Technologies for Interactive Entertainment, pp. 136-141. Springer: Berlin.
Research Group: Situated Art, Design and Technology
Living in cities developed around data and acting within the inscrutable structure of our techno-society demands art and design that can help understand how we relate to these rapidly changing surroundings and to reflect on that relationship. The research group Situated Art, Design and Technology responds to this exigency by fostering a situated turn in art and design through a diverse portfolio of interdisciplinary research projects in partnership with academic and cultural partners, as well as with government and industry.
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‘People are the product of their relationships with their environment. It’s important to understand how technological developments influence these relationships.’
Michel van Dartel 
‘My practice is situated in between different actors, in this shape-shifting middle many things can happen.’
Tara Karpinski
‘Imagination is the key to a strong inclusive society. Artistic work and situated design can contribute to a better understanding of the other.’
Jenny van den Broeke
‘‘Understanding how creativity and imagination emerge from interactions with our environment will lead to improved innovation processes, tools and technologies.’’
Alwin de Rooij
‘Through an interplay of design and research, the apt questions and necessary tools can be discovered and applied to each research project.’
Antal Ruhl
‘Humans are atmospheric beings, particles, dust, in intimate cycles of exchange, actors with an incredible force.’
Annemarie Piscaer
‘Could experimental sensory translation of art works improve their accessibility for sensory diverse exhibition audiences?’
Eva Fotiadi
‘I’m interested in how we can implement situated learning within design education.’
Sarah Lugthart
‘How can the notion of the ‘script’ be used in a situated design practice? ’
Ollie Palmer
‘The ultimate goal is to provide people with the information, skills and tools that enable them to improve the quality of their daily lives.’
Simone van den Broek
‘For me, the iterative design-research process is an exciting journey towards designs that can transform human consciousness.’
Danielle Roberts
‘The essence of the situated, cinematic experience of dance lies in the mental interaction where the public becomes co-author.’
Noud Heerkens
‘Who benefits?’
Ivo Koolen
‘Getting comfortable with ambiguity enables designers to absorb feedback and use it to make better design choices.’
Gabri Heinrichs
‘I look at the ways in which citizens can play an active role in shaping their cities, and how new media and technology can contribute to this.’
Barbara Asselbergs
‘Power, control and chance play an important role in every creative process. I explore this complicated correlation.’
Michiel van Opstal
‘Attention during interaction is personal, not a given fact.’
Misha Croes