The cultural probe approach is a research method that encourages participants to self-document aspects of their daily lives, emotions, and values in creative and personal ways. Rather than relying solely on structured interviews or surveys, it empowers participants to share experiences in their own context and at their own pace. In co-design studies, this approach is often applied in the Discover phase to generate rich, contextual insights that inspire more empathetic, human-centred, and innovative design directions.

Application Example​

In a study exploring how smart home technologies could be designed to meet the needs of older adults, researchers used cultural probe techniques to gather rich insights into participants’ daily lives. A customised probe kit—including a camera, diary, and questionnaires—was developed and refined through pilot testing to ensure accessibility and ease of use. Older adults were invited to record their everyday activities, moods, technology use, and personal reflections over a two-week period, with minimal researcher intrusion.

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The cultural probes empowered participants to share their values, preferences, and lived experiences in their own contexts and at their own pace. Insights from the returned kits revealed how older adults conceptualised technology use in relation to health, social inclusion, and recreation, inspiring new design directions for the smart home interface. (Ghorayeb et al., 2023)