Jonathan Hanahan

Jonathan Hanahan is a researcher, critical designer, and educator who loves technology but is equally terrified by it.

He uses technology to critique technology. His speculative practice explores the physical, cultural, and social ramifications of digital experiences and the role technology plays in shaping our everyday realities. He makes Thick Interfaces — tools, devices, software, artifacts, websites, and videos that agitate the digital facade and reveal the complexity underneath our devices’ thin veneer. 

Hanahan’s research prioritizes alternative and ambient interfaces with technology. In 2022, he founded the Sensory and Ambient Interfaces Lab (SAIL). SAIL investigates a future with fewer screens and how non-visual interfaces and interactions lead to a more digitally enhanced yet less digitally imposed future. The lab works in compromised environments where a screen is either unavailable, dangerous or distracting and investigates how information might be relayed through ambient design strategies that compliment human experiences.  

Hanahan earned his Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech and his Master of Fine Arts from The Rhode Island School of Design. Hanahan is an associate professor and chair of the Master of Design in Human-Computer Interaction and Emerging Technology at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. He is also the co-founder and faculty director of Fox Fridays, an interdisciplinary workshop series encouraging experimentation with tools, processes, and technology.