Democratization is broadly applied in material design and technology innovation, but little is known about democratic design in the digital context. Inspired by the practice of enchanted objects, this paper applies user-centered design as the primary research methodology to investigate what kind of democratic digital solutions might help Millennial-aged consumers streamline their home routines. SMARTKIT is a hacking toolkit created to allow individuals with little hacking ability to enchant the ordinary functionality of home furnishings and endow them with new capabilities which provide personal and social services that monitor and manage home consumables. By adding easy and affordable DIY enchantment, the democratically-designed SMARTKIT will help empower users to design the future of their homes in an accessible and affordable way that fulfills the unique requirements of each user.
SMARTKIT makes the little things matter.