Critical perspectives are rare in human-computer-interaction (HCI) research. Although digital artifacts constitute a fundamental part of the contemporary lifestyle it is seldom discussed how the use of such objects affect the way we understand the world. We propose a new concept, norm-critical design, in which the unit of analysis is the interaction design consisting of technology, interaction, images, sounds, text and how they together construct meaning.  We argue that there is a need to unpack how digital design embeds norms and to examine how the relationship between norms and design can be critically examined.

     The discussion in this paper is based on two different empirical studies. First we will discuss how normative structures are present in the image blog site bilddagboken.se The other empirical material that we discuss is a case study of the design work in a youth counselling site in Sweden (umo.se). The case study gives examples of how different design elements are used in the design and development of websites in order to create a norm-critical experience for the users. We describe how these concerns affect the design outcome in the development of an animation about love.