The keynote will draw upon research from CSCW, HCI, and groupware to outline why practice-based approaches are vital to deriving useful user experience. After an introductory conceptual discussion of these fields, particular attention will be given to awareness as an important design principle and related concepts such as artifacts, affordances, and technology supporting cooperation and design. These introductory remarks will form the basis upon which to outline further how we can understand and design environments to work collaboratively in a better way. On this basis, further discussion will move to life-centred and practice-oriented design processes grounded in methods aligned towards artifacts. Considering how design practices evolve in real-world contexts, the keynote will outline directions towards systemization for further multimodal experience in collaborative contexts. Final reflections will outline visions and projections to the future by considering how new multimodalities can transform the modes through which people collaborate, learn, and create together.