Participatory Design

by Krishna Balakrishnan

• change in design authorship• human-centered approach that requires user

content for completion. • open-ended generative systems • viewers are now the users • professionalism?!

What is Participatory Design?

• solicits content (visual form, thematic content, physical movement or action) from users and translates it into something greater than the initial contribution

• designer provides value to users • initial contributions: carried out by user; such as

photograph, sketch, doodle, word, movement, vocalization, touch

• at larger participatory project - the user content flourishes

• participatory designers enable, aggregrate, transform and distribute content, building user communities through their actions

How Does Participatory Design Work?

• early avant-garde movements (Dadaism and Soviet Constructivism) experimented with social participation

• 1960s - postmodern values of open meaning, multiplicity, and disruption renewed interest in participatory art

• today participation has moved to mainstream • technology enables participation and shifts our

mindset toward networked, co-operative models of making

• open source movement + the copyleft movement opened the way for this inclusive approach

Participatory Design - Why Now?

Cultural Probes• developed by Gaver, Dunne and Pacenti in 1999 • means of gathering inspirational data about

people’s lives, values and thoughts • process involves giving participants probes: small

packages that include artifacts (i.e. map, postcard, camera or diary) along with evocative task to allow them to record events, feelings and interactions

• understand culture • stimulate designer’s imagination

Methods in Participatory Design

Diary Studies• examine the use of a product over time by

providing people with a means of delivering feedback

• historically used physical paper but now technological and digital

Photo Studies• invite participants to photo-document aspects

of their life and interactions• provide designer with visual, self-reported insights

into user behaviour and priorities• used as a complementary component of

other methods

Methods in Participatory Design

Collage• allow participants to visually express their

thoughts, feelings, desire and other aspects of their life that are difficult to articulate using traditional means

• collage kits includes paper sheets, a preset of collecion of images, words, and shapes and glue sticks

• challenge for designers - to find the right quantity and level of specificity in images and words ambiguously enough; not to bais the participant and yet be relevant to the topic being collaged

Methods in Participatory Design

Flexible Modeling• allow users to configure a software interface,

product, or environment from a set of predetermined feaure elements provided by the designer or researcher

• given a component kit of parts, users can provide insight into product or interface a guiding information for designers

• ambiguous component so that participants can overlay their own meanings onto their use or function

• configurations can be realistic or ideal (fantasy) artifacts

• communication through construction and presentation of tangible form or interface

Methods in Participatory Design

Flexible Modeling

Methods in Participatory Design

Creative Toolkits• collections of physical elements conveniently

organized for participatory modeling, visualization, or creative play by users, to inform and inspire design and business teams

• provide users with a tangible artifact to project thoughts, feelings, desires and emotions

• possibilites of various creative toolkit ingredients• portable

Methods in Participatory Design

Design Workshops• consolidated creative co-design methods into

organized sessions for several participants to work with design team members

• collage, mapping, or diagramming excercises• hands-on-training of simple design tools to create

mock-ups, sketches, or storyboards, or role-play interactions to exemplify problem solving by design

• highly and critically organized

Methods in Participatory Design

Utilitarian Poster: Daniel Eatock

The Colour-In Dress: Soepboer + Schuurman

Wolff Olins

New York City Identity

Eddie Opara (2x4 studio, pentagram)

Brooklyn Museum Identity

Andrew Blauvelt

Walker Art Center Identity

Jonathan Puckey + Roel Wouters• film that is continuously being made to celebrate

the 10 year anniversary of KORT!• http://nowtakeabow.com

Now, Take a Bow

and that’s the end of that.

This pdf will be posted on b22krishna.wordpress.com, shortly :)