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My focus

Appropriate technology: tech is a big part of my work; through the years I honed an understanding of what appropriate technology means for organisations with radically different sizes, goals and resources. There is no boilerplate approach that will work each time, because there are no boilerplate problems.

I help with understanding which approach works best for that project, in that context, with that group of humans.

Human systems: Each group of humans is larger than the sum of themselves. Together they form a unique system with its own rules, abilities, and dynamics. People’s strengths need the right environment to shine; organising and inspiring teams for human-system magic can provide unexpected solutions and serendipity.

I help identify what makes that human system unique, to design projects with that same uniqueness at its core.

My Toolbox

Human-centered design principles: stakeholders, audiences, users — whatever you call them, they are the humans you are trying to reach. The human-centered design approach makes sure they are involved from the outset.
assumption/validation loops
iterative creation
prototyping
development timelines

Peer events: the best way to achieve a shared vision is to build the vision together. I facilitate peer workshops, blurring the line between participants and experts.
experiential learning
adult learning
resource/content co-creation

Project inception sprints: taking a fuzzy yet great idea into a concrete, actionable action plan.
vision for success
audience mapping
team composition
resource analysis

Project clinics: tailored troubleshooting for existing projects, starting at situational analysis and going all the way up to organisational change. Sometimes a small nudge at the right time can have long-lasting influence.
tactical course corrections
integrating new information
identifying pivot opportunities

Quick interventions

Emergency repairs for wobbly projects. Book a call for a pro-bono troubleshooting session — my digital door is always open. Don’t worry if you’re just at the ideation stage, find yourself in a crunch at the final stages, or anywhere in between — I am here to help.

What drives me

The relationship between humans and technology. More specifically, the cognitive abyss between the tools we use every day and our understanding of them. Tools define humanity, and essentially represent an extension of ourselves. However, we’re not as capable of deeply understanding modern tools, as we were in the past. A machine cog is a concept that is easy to grasp: recursion isn’t. Yet everyday on average we use more tools driven by recursive loops, than those driven by cogs (unless you’re Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times). This imbalance can cause inequality, take away control, fuel extremism, exacerbate solitude. I wish to interrogate how humans and machines interact, and find ways to give humans tools for grasping, understanding, subverting and ultimately owning the obscure principles that guide machines to make decisions that affect society.

Long CV and bio -

Copy-pasteable bio and mugshot

Tin Geber mugshot

Computational artist and creative strategist with experience in human-centered program and service design, project implementation, and workshop facilitation. Extensive international experience with a broad range of thematic areas across the development spectrum.

Tin has been working on the intersection of technology, art and activism for most of the last decade. In his previous role as Design and Tech Lead for The Engine Room, he developed role-playing games for human rights activists; collaborated on augmented reality transmedia projects; and helped NGOs around the world to develop creative ways to combine technology and human rights (such as online platforms exposing land grabbing, microtasking tools for human rights, and even tools about tools).

Tin has a BA in Media Sciences, and an MA in Computational Arts.

Professional Experience

Design and Technology Lead – The Engine Room

Distributed, 2014 - 2017

  • Managed a team of up to 10 staff and contractors, leading The Engine Room’s direct support activities, developing organisational strategy, implementation of technology and human-centered design processes
  • Core member of the Responsible Data Program team since its inception
  • Contributed to conceptualization of the Responsible Data rhetorical framework
  • Co-author of the Responsible Data Handbook
  • Managed responsible data assessments for organisations working on transparency and accountability, LGBTQI rights and citizen-generated data for sustainable development goals in the Balkans, Latin America, and Southern Africa
  • Participated in developing and facilitating the majority of Responsible Data Forums, including forums on responsible development data, consent and crowdsourcing, and data visualization
  • Conducted feasibility studies into the potential of citizen-generated data for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals. Through four workshops with more than 100 participants, collated findings that shaped the strategic and conceptual framework of the DataShift program
  • Designed and managed direct support activities for the DataShift program in Argentina, Kenya, Tanzania and Nepal. Selected, assessed and designed custom support for nine local citizen-generated projects on a range of subjects, ranging from responsible data assessments to UX design and data literacy.
  • Conducted various feasibility studies on information management of highly sensitive data for partners such as Amnesty International, the Open Society Archives (Hungary), and Youth Initiative for Human Rights (Croatia)
  • Managed development of the Serbian Data Centar, an online process focused on making open data useful and usable (CRTA, 2015)
  • Created an e-waste data collection process for The Restart Project (2015)
  • Developed user journeys and narratives for election monitoring systems in BiH (Zasto Ne, 2014)
  • Designed and conducted more than 20 workshops for a broad selection of non-profit social change actors, ranging between human rights, war reconciliation, transparency and accountability, corruption, GBV, LGBTQI. The workshop topics ranged from core organisational strategy to per-project workplan sprints, writing workshops, and digital security trainings, and more.

Web Operations - International Land Coalition

Rome, Italy 2012-2014

  • Developed strategy, implementation and project management of the Land Matrix, an online database of large-scale land acquisitions. Facilitated complex multi-stakeholder, cross-sector interactions between academia, land-tenure practitioners, research organisations and grassroots organizations.
  • Managed external and internal teams of developers and designers for ILC’s online products.

Country Experience

Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Kenya, Kosovo, Italy, Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Nepal, Serbia, Tajikistan, Tanzania, UK, USA

Education

Goldsmiths University, London, UK

Universita’ La Sapienza Rome, Italy

  • BA in Media Theory 2016
  • Thesis on the gatekeeping role of algorithms in digital media, and the effect of algorithmic mediation on the selection and presentation of information: GitBooks, PDF/ePub/Mobi, Github

Skills

Business skills

  • Strategic planning
  • Needs assessment
  • Identifying partners, matchmaking
  • Training and facilitation
  • Project management

Creative skills

  • Art direction
  • Story-building and storytelling — cross-media
  • UX design
  • Visual and audio design

Technical skills

  • HTML, CSS (proficient)
  • Javascript (intermediate, highly functional)
  • PHP (functional)
  • Revisioning (git/GitHub, proficient)
  • Python (basic)
  • Proficient in all common OS environments office and graphic design packages
  • High practical knowledge of, and experience with digital security protocols, tools and platforms

Selected Lectures and Events

  • “Trendy trends in Civic Tech”, PDF Ukraine 2016, Kyiv
  • “Integrating technology in advocacy” keynote, POINT conference 2015, Sarajevo
  • Responsible Data Sessions at the Community Knowledge Exchange 2015, Toronto
  • “Responsible Development Toolkit” and “Responsible Data Safe Space” sessions, Open Development Camp 2014, Amsterdam
  • “Can Open Data Go Wrong” session, Open Knowledge Festival 2014, Berlin
  • Facilitation of the first School of Data Summer Camp, 2014, Potsdam
  • White House DataJam to develop tools for improving university campus safety, Washington DC, 2014
  • Concept and facilitation in the evidence-based advocacy training camp organized by the Tactical Tech Collective, 2013

Selected Publications