Graphene can… is a joint research project created in collaboration with Samantha Miller. It was our final project on the MA Interaction Design course at Goldsmiths, University of London. After visiting several labs such as the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, and the Department of Materials at Oxford. We wanted to speak with varied members of the public about graphene. As well as engage them with the material, its properties, and applications.

We created the ‘salesman suitcase’ of graphene, including sample materials in various forms (powder, dissolved in liquid). The case also contained an array of everyday objects, a toilet roll, sponge and condom all selected to generate discussion around common uses for the material. Alongside the case, we designed a set of cards, used to discuss topics of interest and to find out more about the people we interviewed.

We spoke with a diverse set of people around London with varied interests, hobbies, professions, and lifestyles. These included a tattoo artist, an art conservationist, a knitting enthusiast, a reverend, and a Meccano expert. Each person provided us with a completely fresh take on how graphene could be used in the future.

Our conversations sit in contrast to the narratives heard from technology corporations. They promise futures of graphene with omnipresent touch-screens and flexible smartphones. The People we spoke to imagined everything from packaging material, to graffiti-resistant bus stops, to graphene toilet paper. We aimed to engage with members of the public and both raise their awareness about graphene, and provoke them to explore what it might mean for their future(s).

From these conversations we designed four artefacts illustrating possible future scenarios with graphene. We intend that these scenarios highlight not only unexpected applications for this much-hyped nanomaterial, but also raise questions around the potential futures, behaviours, issues, and controversies that this material brings with it.

With our designs, we wanted to ask:
- What might happen if graphene condoms are commonplace?
- How might we use graphene toilet paper?
- What ‘artspotters’ might emerge if artworks are shipped by train in crates made from clear Graphene panels?
- What new risks may ‘nano toys’ introduce to the world of play?

The exhibit included information about graphene and its properties, potential future applications and the focus of current scientific research. In front of each designed artefact was a description of the imagined scenario, and a description of the ‘persona’ of the person with whom we spoke to.

Graphene Can... was exhibited at Deptford Town Hall from December 9-11, 2014. A day-long symposium was held on December 11, where we presented our project and process to various academic and industry partners including members of Phillips Design, Plot Design, STBY, and Goldsmiths’ Interaction Research Studio.