Shifting towards community-building in opening up FabLabs for non-expert users

In the early days of Fablabs and other digital fabrication spaces (e.g. hackerspaces, makerspaces), these community spaces that offer public, shared access to high-end manufacturing equipment (e.g. 3D-printers, laser cutters) were often described as having the democratizing potential to empower everyone as future makers. However, research showed that non-expert users are often impeded to engage in such spaces due to various challenges (among other things, the unfamiliarity of available tools and machines, a lack of skills and experience). By describing a case study in which we elucidate different strategies that were used to engage non-expert users in FabLab [anonymized], this paper focuses on the mediating role of the design researchers who be

Shifting towards community-building in opening up FabLabs for non-expert users

In the early days of Fablabs and other digital fabrication spaces (e.g. hackerspaces, makerspaces), these community spaces that offer public, shared access to high-end manufacturing equipment (e.g. 3D-printers, laser cutters) were often described as having the democratizing potential to empower everyone as future makers. However, research showed that non-expert users are often impeded to engage in such spaces due to various challenges (among other things, the unfamiliarity of available tools and machines, a lack of skills and experience). By describing a case study in which we elucidate different strategies that were used to engage non-expert users in FabLab [anonymized], this paper focuses on the mediating role of the design researchers who be

Diálogos democráticos que fazem funcionar as cidades

The field of Strategic Design supports designers in researching and designing for the complexity of today’s cities by embracing the idea of strategic dialogue, in which designers align with different actors and their interests. In this article, we discuss how democratic dialogues – foregrounded in the Participatory Design (PD) tradition – play a role in complex urban design processes (i.e. ‘infrastructuring’) and entail different types of dialogues of which strategic dialogue is merely one. After framing Strategic Design and PD, we describe five designer roles and their associated dialogues. This description forms the basis of an exploratory typology of democratic dialogues that was applied and exemplified in a case study about a Living Lab in the neighbourhood of Genk. The Lab attempts to design alternative futures for work in the city together with citizens, public and private organisations. We claim that engaging with this typology allows designers to understand and design infrastructuring processes in the urban context and to open up different design dialogues and roles for discussion.Keywords: democratic dialogues, living lab, urban context, designer roles, infrastructuring.O campo do design estratégico apoia o trabalho de designers que pesquisam e projetam para a complexidade das cidades de hoje. De fato, ao abraçar a ideia do diálogo estratégico, os designers se alinham com diferentes atores e seus interesses. Neste artigo, discutimos como diálogos democráticos – que estão em primeiro plano na tradição do Design Participativo (PD) – são relevantes em processos complexos de design urbano (ou seja, de “infraestruturação”) e implicam diferentes tipos de diálogos, entre os quais o diálogo estratégico é apenas um. Depois de enquadrar Design Estratégico e PD, descrevemos cinco papéis do designer e seus relativos diálogos. Esta descrição constitui a base de uma tipologia exploratória de diálogos democráticos que foi aplicada e exemplificada em um estudo de caso sobre um Living Lab, no bairro de Genk. O Lab tenta projetar futuros alternativos para o trabalho na cidade, juntamente com os cidadãos, organizações públicas e privadas. Afirmamos que se envolver com esta tipologia permite que os designers entendam e projetem processos de infraestruturação no contexto urbano e se abram para diferentes diálogos de design e papéis para a discussão.Palavras-chave: diálogos democráticos, living lab, contexto urbano, papéis do designer, infraestruturação

Diálogos democráticos que fazem funcionar as cidades

The field of Strategic Design supports designers in researching and designing for the complexity of today’s cities by embracing the idea of strategic dialogue, in which designers align with different actors and their interests. In this article, we discuss how democratic dialogues – foregrounded in the Participatory Design (PD) tradition – play a role in complex urban design processes (i.e. ‘infrastructuring’) and entail different types of dialogues of which strategic dialogue is merely one. After framing Strategic Design and PD, we describe five designer roles and their associated dialogues. This description forms the basis of an exploratory typology of democratic dialogues that was applied and exemplified in a case study about a Living Lab in the neighbourhood of Genk. The Lab attempts to design alternative futures for work in the city together with citizens, public and private organisations. We claim that engaging with this typology allows designers to understand and design infrastructuring processes in the urban context and to open up different design dialogues and roles for discussion.Keywords: democratic dialogues, living lab, urban context, designer roles, infrastructuring.O campo do design estratégico apoia o trabalho de designers que pesquisam e projetam para a complexidade das cidades de hoje. De fato, ao abraçar a ideia do diálogo estratégico, os designers se alinham com diferentes atores e seus interesses. Neste artigo, discutimos como diálogos democráticos – que estão em primeiro plano na tradição do Design Participativo (PD) – são relevantes em processos complexos de design urbano (ou seja, de “infraestruturação”) e implicam diferentes tipos de diálogos, entre os quais o diálogo estratégico é apenas um. Depois de enquadrar Design Estratégico e PD, descrevemos cinco papéis do designer e seus relativos diálogos. Esta descrição constitui a base de uma tipologia exploratória de diálogos democráticos que foi aplicada e exemplificada em um estudo de caso sobre um Living Lab, no bairro de Genk. O Lab tenta projetar futuros alternativos para o trabalho na cidade, juntamente com os cidadãos, organizações públicas e privadas. Afirmamos que se envolver com esta tipologia permite que os designers entendam e projetem processos de infraestruturação no contexto urbano e se abram para diferentes diálogos de design e papéis para a discussão.Palavras-chave: diálogos democráticos, living lab, contexto urbano, papéis do designer, infraestruturação

Long-term participation in design processes: exploring the engagement of non-expert users in open spaces

Over the last decennia, we are witnessing a rise and spread in open spaces (e.g. Fablabs, maker spaces, Living labs and City labs). The aim of these open spaces is setting up design processes to challenge existing modes of innovating, experiment with materials and with organising collectives. Although these spaces provide people with easy access to (technical or social) infrastructures, the issue of engaging non-expert users within these spaces remains pressing. This PhD research project follows the approach of Participatory Design (PD), which states that everyone who is affected by the design should be involved in the design process. By investigating two open spaces, this PhD research project explores how to achieve the long-term engagement of non-expert users in design processes. The findings of this PhD research are based on insights from six different projects taking place in the open spaces of FabLab Genk or De Andere Markt. The first part of this thesis comprises of two chapters that both stress the importance of combining different, complementary strategies for engaging non-expert users in an open space. Furthermore, these long-term design processes ideally start from shared values and visions, emphasising the need to build relationships. This relationship-building is mainly carried out through backstage work (i.e. more informal activities like coffee meetings and complementary to the frontage design activities like co-design sessions). Investments in this backstage work also affect both the roles of the designer and participants in the design process. Therefore, the next three chapters of this thesis address the relational qualities and the different, overlapping roles of the designers in both the backstage- and frontstage activities of these long-term PD processes. Comparable to the second part of the thesis, the final part contains two chapters that explore which various roles participants take on in these long-term design processes, especially in the backstage work. This PhD research provides an understanding of the importance of backstage design activities and the relational qualities of the designer in setting up long-term PD with non-expert users. Furthermore, it offers open spaces insights for setting up long-term processes with non-expert users. This PhD research concludes with a plea for more attention to backstage designers and making the essential backstage work extra visible, as it is an indispensable part of the design process.status: publishe

Hybridity in MAP-it: how moderating participatory design workshops is a balancing act between fun and foundations

This paper departs from the idea that participatory design workshops take on the form of exchanges of viewpoints, wherein none of the involved designers, participants or objects completely define the process of exchange and its outcomes. This raises the question how this multidirectional process can still be moderated. We propose that designers take on a hybrid approach to moderate these exchanges, respecting the different viewpoints involved. We will do this by discussing the design game 'MAP-it'. The hybridity in moderating a MAP-it workshop results from balancing diversity on two defining levels: (1) the composition of the groups of participants and (2) the differences in viewpoints on the addressed topics. We refer to three case studies that describe a series of MAP-it workshops. We conclude that an imbalance between these levels affects the hybrid flow of the workshop, leading to a shift in the role of the moderator and an adaptation of the game rules and pieces.status: publishe

Designing the healthcare and housing concept of tomorrow: a reflection on Participatory Design methods for complex healthcare situations

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Methods for collective creativity in experience design processes for health(care)

Framed within the participatory design perspective and the Socially Responsible Design approach, we believe that design has a responsibility towards society (Papanek, 1985) and should involve all actors. In our view, the preparation of a new research proposal should therefore always start from a multi-actor perspective. This paper describes how different mapping sessions with all stakeholders (patients, nursing staff, doctors, companies, policy makers) were organised to develop a eHealth research project, dealing with the creation of smart textiles used for self-management in chronic diseases (Textures for Care). This mapping tool, self-developed in the MAP-it-project, brings all stakeholders to an equal level, both verbally as well as visually, thus enriching the communicative possibilities. The mapping toolkit creates a common language between participants with different profiles, backgrounds and expertise who not necessarily share the same 'language'.status: publishe

MAP-it. On Risk, Friction and Releasing Control

MAP-it is a mapping method to mediate participatory design processes. More specifically, it is a toolkit – or MAP-(k)it – that is designed to address the fact that people from different profiles, backgrounds and expertise do not necessarily share the same ‘language’. The MAP-(k)it contains stickers and background maps that are open and adjustable and it intends to construct a common language among participants. This language – which is new to all participants – aims to create a different dialogue than every participant is used to in her/his own context. MAP-it’s ‘unfamiliar’ character enables everybody to join the conversation on an equal level. MAPit encourages participants to take the risk to explore the rich potential of their mutual differences and to deal with the resulting uncertainty in a playful and constructive way. A review of risk-related literature shows that this type of risk-taking is often underexposed in the description of participatory methods. Generally, (the descriptions of) these methods – and certainly when used in commercial contexts – focus on reaching consensus between participants as efficient as possible. However, risk is an integral and necessary part of the participatory process.status: publishe

Please resuscitate! How to share a project concerning self-management in diabetes to enable participants to elaborate on it after project completion

This paper discusses how we developed and shared documentation of a participatory design project ‘Bespoke design’, in which three personalised self-management tools are designed for three participants with type 1 diabetes. To generate a larger impact and prevent the project from fading out after its completion, the design team aims to enable other interested parties (designers, developers, people with diabetes, etcetera) to elaborate on the project, e.g. rework or alter the tools and ideas for new contexts. We refer to this objective as ‘generativity’ (Erikson, 1950; Zittrain, 2008; Van Osch & Avital, 2009). Documenting and sharing practices in the context of generativity is predominantly concentrated on the material aspects of a design, enabling others to remake it (Huybrechts, Storni & Schoffelen, 2014; Schoffelen & Huybrechts, 2013). However, the inclusion of immaterial aspects, in the form of meanings and viewpoints of participants on the project’s process and results (e.g. Dix, 2007; Avital, 2011; Kanstrup, 2012), can generate an additional impact. It supports an interpretative and generative discourse that can result into a wider range of variations on concepts and meanings involved, instead of merely concentrating on developing (new) self-management tools. This approach better fits the complexity of design projects in the field of health care. In this paper we evaluate Make-and-tell, a toolkit developed to support design teams to specifically document and share these immaterial viewpoints and material aspects, as used in the project ‘Bespoke Design’.status: publishe