Design for (every)one: co-creation as a bridge between universal design and rehabilitation engineering

In this paper the authors describe a general framework for co-designing assistive devices in a horizontal user innovation network [1] by and for disabled users. This framework attempts to identify, share and use “hidden solutions” in rehabilitation contexts and translate them into disruptive assistive devices build with local resources. Within healthcare contexts local solutions are frequently more effective, as they reflect the physical, emotional and cognitive needs of specific patients and engage all the stakeholders in a specific local context. By using an open horizontal innovation network, where assistive devices can be easily shared and physically hacked by other paramedics, general patterns can be detected and translated into standard universal design objects. This generative design thinking approach [2] is more than feasible with digital trends like crowd sourcing, user-generated content and peer production [3]. Cheap and powerful prototyping tools have become easier to use by non-engineers; it turns them into users as well as self manufactures [4]. We discuss the different aspects of this open innovation process within a ‘design for disability’ context and suggest the first steps of an iterative co-design methodology bringing together professional designers, occupational therapists and patients. In this paper the authors sketch the holistic framework which starts with the innovation development and the co-creation process between these disciplines

The role of flow experience in codesigning open-design assistive devices

This paper describes the theoretical framework of an inclusive participatory design approach which leads to qualitative occupational experiences within the field of community-based rehabilitation. The aim is to support voluntarily controlled activities by applying co-construction theories to disabled users and their dynamic environment. The starting point of this open design process is a threefold interaction involving caregivers, patients and occupational therapists within their local product ecology. Co-creation is used as a set of iterative techniques to steer the patient towards flow experiences. Do-it-Yourself is consecutively applied as physical prototyping, communication language and personal manufacturing process. By implementing this active engagement process disabled people and their carers become conscious actors in providing collaborative maintenance of their own physical, mental and social well-being

Expect the unexpected: the co-construction of assistive artifacts

This paper aims to explain emerging design activities within community-based rehabilitation contexts through the science of self-organization and adaptivity. It applies an evolutionary systematic worldview (Heylighen, 2011) to frame spontaneous collaboration between different local agents which produce self-made assistive artifacts. Through a process of distinction creation and distinction destruction occupational therapist, professional non-designers, caregivers and disabled people co-evolve simultaneously towards novel possibilities which embody a contemporary state of fitness. The conversation language is build on the principles of emotional seeding through stigmergic prototyping and have been practically applied as a form of design hacking which blends design time and use time. Within this process of co-construction the thought experiment of Maxwell’s Demon is used to map perceived behavior and steer the selecting process of following user-product adaptation strategies. This practice-based approach is illustrated through a case study and tries to integrate both rationality and intuition within emerging participatory design activities

The role of re-appropriation in open design : a case study on how openness in higher education for industrial design engineering can trigger global discussions on the theme of urban gardening

This case study explores the opportunities for students of Industrial Design Engineering to engage with direct and indirect stakeholders by making their design process and results into open-ended Designed Solutions. The reported case study involved 47 students during a two-weeks intensive course on the topic of urban gardening. Observations were collected during three distinctive phases: the co-design phase, the creation of an Open Design and the sharing of these design solutions on the online platform Instructables.com. The open sharing of local solutions triggered more global discussions, based on several types of feedbacks: from simple questions to reference to existing works and from suggestions to critiques. Also some examples of re-appropriation of the designed solutions were reported. These feedbacks show the possibilities for students to have a global vision on their local solutions, confronting them with a wider and more diverse audience. The case study shows on the other hand the difficulty in keeping students engaged in this global discussion, considering how after a few weeks the online discussions dropped to an almost complete silence. It is also impossible with such online platforms to follow the re-appropriation cycles, losing the possibility of exploring the new local context were the replication / modification of the designed product occurred. The course’s focus on Open Design is interesting both under the design and educational points of view. It implies a deep change in the teaching approach and learning attitude of students, allowing unknown peers to take part of the design process and fostering a global discussion starting from unique and local solutions

Second-degree frugal innovation in the Belgian healthcare system

The innovation space created by designers within healthcare is meant to empower users (e.g., nurses, patients and therapists). Due to the variety of users and systems involved, this is a complex task. Often products fall short or do not bring the empowerment they promise, eroding “our sense of independence” (McDonagh & Thomas, 2010, p. 182). In this context, the concepts of frugal innovation and sustainability-as-flourishing have been implemented. Specifically, we asked 10 design teams to redesign idiosyncratic hacks generated by local healthcare professionals with the goal of upscaling into marketable products-systems for flourishing, without losing the goodness of fit. Even though the process produced very interesting business ideas, that still would fit with the idea of frugal innovation (in terms of cost reduction and locality, for example), some tensions have been highlighted and discussed in the paper

Thea schommelt

Thea Schommelt is een jong bedrijf ontstaan vanuit een co-design project binnen het Howest Industrial Design Center. In de wereld van assistieve technologie blijken lokale zelfgebouwde oplossingen heel effectief aangezien zij een weerspiegeling vormen voor de fysieke, emotionele en cognitieve noden van specifieke patiënten en bovenal interactie stimuleren tussen alle belanghebbenden binnen eenzelfde productecologie (Forlizzi, 2008). De drijvende kracht van deze hands-on methodiek is co-construction, een vorm van cocreatie waarbij alle betrokken stakeholders hun kennis rond een case letterlijk opbouwen door middel van experience prototyping; gaande van tinkering (knutselend brainstormen) tot low-volume manufacturing. Het eindresultaat van dit proces is steeds een duurzaam product gebouwd volgens open design principes. Pas nadien wordt de vertaling naar een universeel hulpmiddel door professionele ontwerpers gemaakt

Disabled persons as lead users in product innovation: a literature overview

Lead users can be a valuable source for innovation. They are capable of detecting and experiencing needs before the general market does, and are willing to innovate because they can gain significant benefits if their needs are fulfilled. Several authors have highlighted the use of disabled persons, framed as lead users, to foster innovation in new product development. In this article, we review 18 cases where disabled users are framed as lead users, identifying common characteristics within these cases. The characteristics include the product categories where disabled lead user innovation occurs and how lead users were involved in these cases. Additionally, we look at the selection process of disabled lead users and how this relates to the classic approach of lead user innovation. Finally, we propose further opportunities for lead user innovation using disabled persons, and the challenges facing research in this domain

The role of prototyping in developing assistive devices

Products in the healthcare context must put human relationships and social interactions central. Today, two main approaches are common when adopting assistive products for impaired users. Standard assistive devices offer either functionality that is not well-matched to the patient’s impairment. Or - in case a occupational therapist has physically hacked the product accordingly - it works stigmatizing for the patient, due to its unattractive design. “Design for [every]one” is a multidisciplinary design process appropriate for developing customized assistive devices. Prototyping is consecutively applied as design method and communication language for an incremen-tal personalization process involving design team members, patients and occupational therapists. By imple-menting active engagement with user experience prototypes and observational techniques, it is possible to re-duce stigmatization and augment the product affinity between patient and the assistive tool. The starting point of this personalized system are questions about what an individual needs in the broadest sense. Through an extended dialogue with prototypes, a person’s aspirations and needs can be made tangible to all the stakeholders in the design process. During this “design, implement- and evaluate” process, a wide range of prototyping techniques have to be adhered, due to the high functional demands and the different user-driven aspects of the actual product. A consensus has to be made where rapid prototyping techniques go hand in hand with manual prototyping tech-niques and the use of standard components in order to come up with a fully functional and esthetical prod-ucts. The development process is documented by allocating versions to the sequential prototypes and describing particularly the performed user tests. The developed method is verified and illustrated by real case-studies

Design for [every]one

“Design for [every]one” is an ergonomic design process appropriate for the assistive technology sector. User centered techniques are applied for an incremental personalization process involving design team members, patients and occupational therapists. By implementing active engagement with user experience prototypes and observational techniques, it is possible to reduce the stigmatization and augment the product affinity between patient and assistive tool. Basically, this approach works in two ways , personalized assistive products are fitted to the users and users become fitted to their products. In this paper we will sketch the framework of this design type and discuss some tools to gather and validate information during various phases of the iterative design process