Tekkelise

Tekkelise is a term used in design theory and speculative discourse to describe a holistic practice that integrates technical skill with social and ethical considerations in the development of artifacts and information systems. It emphasizes collaborative, iterative workflows that involve designers, engineers, users, and other stakeholders in requirements gathering, prototyping, testing, and reflective evaluation.

The term is a neologism coined in the 2010s within design and human-computer interaction circles; it blends elements from tech with a suffix intended to signal a systematic practice, without tying the term to a single discipline.

Core characteristics include interdisciplinarity, user-centered evaluation, transparency of methods, open sharing of results, and attention to social impact. Tekkelise advocates early and continuous stakeholder involvement and favors lightweight, iterative prototypes to stress-test assumptions and ethical considerations.

It is used as a conceptual frame in discussions of participatory design, responsible innovation, and open design. In education, it appears in curricula that integrate technical coursework with ethics, policy awareness, and community engagement.

Some commentators view tekin kelise as too broad or ill-defined, risking vagueness in practice. Proponents argue that the term helps articulate a shared aspiration for integrating technology with human values, providing a vocabulary for cross-disciplinary collaboration and reflective design.

See also: participatory design, human-centered design, responsible innovation, open design.