designer, researcher, tinkerer, utopist, flâneur, luddite

Bespoke design research, explorations and critical perspectives on interactive technology in a constructive, finding-better-ways, sense

A proponent of , my driving values are human rights ( and in particular), social and ecological , and a healthy .

In my , I apply social science theory and method to digital contexts, with a and artisanal attitude.

My belief in and iterative comes paired with a passion for , for prototyping with , and for contributing to (mostly using , and ).

My work and research interests hover around , , technology , and . I find peace in immersing myself in my , most commonly on and with a faible for .

This interactive portfolio – a constant work in progress – introduces my perspective through past and ongoing work and play. To learn more, or if I can assist with your project, I look forward to hearing from you.

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Book cover with the title 'The Absent Peer' by Sebastian Greger, displaying four yellow boardgame pegs and one green peg standing at a distance away.
What if designers would systematically consider the impact of their work on those not using it? "The Absent Peer – Non-users in Social Interaction Design" (awarded “Best HCI-related MA thesis” in the 2011 SIGCHI Finland thesis competition) provides a framework for the consideration of often overlooked non-users in the context of social interaction design (SxD), in particular for the design of social network sites (SNSs).
A scan of a newspaper article in Finnish, with the title 'Pallogrillajien kypsyyskoe', featuring a big photo from a design exhibition, with fashion manequins and some photo art on the wall

Sebastian Greger's research and theory of the "Absent Peer" is so important it hurts. Hopefully Greger extends his research into a PhD thesis.

–Kaj Kalin, Helsingin Sanomat 2011 (transl. from Finnish original)

In day-to-day content editing, accessible features of a website may be inadvertedly compromised. With instant validation tools available, why not integrate them into editors’ workflow? The a11yprompter plugin integrates accessibility guidance for editors on websites using Kirby CMS.
Screenshot of a website inviting users to enter a conflict solution tool, based on a four-step process depicted using hand-drawn images.
What if an interactive helper could remove barriers for everybody to "get their right" in a legal conflict? "Recht ohne Streit", a legal design research project, is an interactive, lay-friendly guide to solving legal conflicts, removing barriers for access to justice, using alternative methods (autonomous dispute resolution, ADR).
Scaled-down thumbnail image of an academic paper

Legal Design Journal, Issue 1 (2024)

“Recht ohne Streit” aims to democratise access to justice by empowering citizens as active agents in their legal conflicts

Greger, S. (2024). “Recht ohne Streit” aims to democratise access to justice by empowering citizens as active agents in their legal conflicts. Legal Design Journal, "Studio". Issue 1.

In a series of conference talks on "Privacy UX"– at Webkongress Erlangen, World Usability Day Hamburg, and GUI&DESIGN –, I presented and discussed approaches to incorporating privacy into usability work: how designers have the means as much as a responsibility to shape users' privacy experience.
The author on a stage, with a slide: 'Datenschutz-UX: Lösung, Verantwortung, Chance'
Exhibition poster in Finnish, for an exhibition called 'Aurora Urbanis'
A multi-year aurora chase around Tampere/Finland, the second most populous urban area in Finland, eventually culminated in the "Aurora Urbanis" photo exhibition, questioning why this beauty in the sky is so commonly overlooked by those living right under it.
Adding Etag support to the backend cache allows to optimize caching for the best user experience and performance. The open source CachETag plugin for Kirby is the result of explorations to extend an already ultra-performant CMS with advanced caching.
Illustration of a browser and a server as persons with legs and arms. The server is crossed out in red, while the browser is accompanied by a folder with text 'cache' and marked with a green tick.
A group of five young people with two bicycles, entering the Hakaniemi subway station in Helsinki
Teaching the Aalto Unversity Department of Design "Strategic Co-Design" MA-level course, we partnered with the Helsinki public transport agency HKL to have students explore opportunities for the strategic application of co-design methods and nurture a user-centered design culture in public transit.
The title of the book in a white heart on red background (excerpt from the book cover).

"Designing for wellbeing" (2013)

Reducing social distance through co-design

Greger, S., Hatami, Z. (2013). Reducing social distance through co-design. In: Keinonen, T., Vaajakallio, K., Honkonen, J. (eds.) Designing for wellbeing. Aalto University Publication Series, Art+Design+Architecture 5/2013, Helsinki, Finland. Details.

As part of co-teaching the “Co-Design for the Future Health IT” class at Aalto University’s Department of Design, my colleague Zagros Hatami and I summarized some findings into a book chapter published for the Helsinki Design Capital 2013 initiative.

The cookie banner is likely the most disliked element in web design history. My lightning talk "Designing away the cookie disclaimer" at the Beyond Tellerrand conference warm-up highlighted the importance of designers understanding legal context and designing genuinely privacy-first solutions that achieve our goals without relying on cookies requiring consent.
A person sitting behind a table on a stage, with a bright yellow slide displaying the title 'Designing away the cookie disclaimer', followed by a question mark
Amidst the "GDPR panic weeks" of 2018, the The "Website privacy extreme" workshop for artists, activists, cultural producers and concerned individuals at the cooperatively-owned trans-disciplinary cultural space Kuusi Palaa in Helsinki focused not on GDPR compliance, but on truly designing for actual privacy,. We developed ideas how to possibly take it to the absolute extreme. possibly taking it to the absolute extreme.
Screenshot of the event announcement on the website of 'Kuusi Palaa', the space hosting the event.
A whiteboard with post-it notes, two persons in the background engaged in a discussion
While most educational offerings during spring 2018 were either about bending looming GDPR rules or about turning everything off, we We formed a team of a lawyer, an agency owner and a designer to offer the workshop "Privacy on the web — pitfalls, strategies, risk management, GDPR", looking at creative, yet compliant, solutions.

Working Draft podcast

Working Draft, Revision 336: DSGVO

workingdraft.de (in German)

As our design-led GDPR workshop gained some attention, we got invited to talk about our insights on "Working Draft", a popular podcast for German web developers.

What does it take to make personal websites act as native Fediverse citizens? A Kirby-based experiment. of making this website appear on the Fediverse (Mastodon et al.) as a native ActivityPub server. A complex reverse-engineering quest, but quite magical once it starts to work.
Screenshot of a page that shows this website's content as an ActivityPub stream, resembling the Mastodon UI.
Starting from a three-hour session on "usability", my My teacher role in a multi-day program for communication professionals evolved into a full training day dedicated to human-centred design in corporate communications. Over eight years, dozens of participants learned about usability, accessibility and design beyond the mainstream.
A seminar room with the author presenting a slide title with the Finnish word 'ihminen', which is 'human' in English
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