Tommaso Armstrong
Hi, I'm Tomm 👋
I’m a Human Computer Interaction PhD student and casual academic at UTS with undergrad degrees in IT and Transdisciplinary Innovation (BCII). My research explores how the design of social technologies shapes the experiences of queer people.
I'm fascinated by the interactions people have with technology and by the ethical, philosophical and societal implications surrounding them. I also have interests in social innovation, complexity and data science (and visualisation).
If I'm not working/studying, I can usually be found out on the street with my camera, buried in a tech/sociology book or hacking on side projects.
You can find my daily ramblings on Twitter, my photography on Instagram, and my CV here. If you'd like to email me, feel free to reach me at hi@tomma.so.
PhD in Human Computer Interaction
Social platforms increasingly mediate our social interactions, and the work within HCI that explores how they shape experience is overwhelmingly heteronormative. My research aims to contribute a queer perspective that shows how social platforms play a role in the lives and experiences of queer young men and to aid designers in creating technology that is more supportive of them.
Design workshops
Based on the findings from my research so far, I'm running co-design workshops in the SF Bay Area when I visit in June 2023.
I'm looking for people interested in helping me explore how the design of social platforms could be better for queer young men.
What's involved
👉 Attend a 2-3 hour co-design session
👉 You’ll get to explore how you’d augment, re-design or re-imagine the social platforms used by queer young men
👉 You won’t be asked to share any confidential or proprietary information related to your current or former employers
Workshop details
🕙 Saturday 10 am — attend either June 17 or July 1 📍 Noisebridge — 272 Capp St, San Francisco
You can participate if you’re
✅ working in UX/design/tech
✅ based in the SF Bay Area
✅ queer or an ally
Sign up here
For more information, see the Participant Information Sheet or feel free to email me
Publications to date
- Armstrong, Tommaso, and Tuck Wah Leong. 2019. “SNS and the Lived Experiences of Queer Youth.” In Proceedings of the 31st Australian Conference on Human-Computer-Interaction, 376–80. Fremantle WA Australia: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3369457.3369497. [PDF]
- Swipe Right To Create Queer Safe Spaces Online — article published in The Star Observer