Design participation tactics: the challenges and new roles for designers in the co-design process

Abstract

This paper seeks to redefine ‘user participation in design’ and to articulate new roles for designers in order to transform design processes. The term ‘Design Participation’ was introduced in the 1971 Design Research Society conference. The main focus of this paper is to suggest ways to tackle three areas that have been neglected over 30 years of Design Participation development, namely: the aesthetic quality of design practice, the collaborative relationship of design research and participatory design thinking. The paper is a reflection by a professional designer developed through the experience of working with different groups in action research projects and these concrete case studies are used to illustrate the developing theory. Three areas of challenges were identified and the overall aim was to facilitate innovative collaboration and create platforms for social inclusion in design practice. Addressing these challenges, it is essential to reconsider the roles of designers (design developer, facilitator and generator) in order to achieve user participation in design. However, in order to avoid tokenism, the most important thing is to practice these roles as tactics of Design Participation.

Keywords:

• design
• design participation
• co-design
• emancipation
• tactics

Acknowledgements

First, I would like to thank all the ‘users’ in my research, especially the grass-roots resident group's members (The Lower Ngau Tau Kok (II) Estate Redevelopment Concern Group and the Elderly Flats Concern Group) for their valuable time and trust in me by sharing their experience. Perhaps I should call them my ‘illegal supervisors’, echoing Hill's (2003) ‘illegal architect’, because of their valuable insights for my design development. I hope they will not be treated merely as ‘users’ anymore.

I would like to thank my respected supervisor-in-chief, Mr Timothy Jachna, and my co-supervisor, Professor John Frazer, from School of Design, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. It was my great honour to work with Professor Roger Coleman and Professor Jeremy Myerson, Directors of the Helen Hamlyn Centre at the Royal College of Art, London, who are experts in inclusive design and innovation. This research would not have been possible without the support of the research studentship-funding scheme and help from staff members of the School of Design of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Finally, many thanks are given to the editors of this issue, especially Dr Thomas Binder and Dr Eva Brandt, for their valuable comments and patient tracing, and Julia Cassim for her final editing of the paper in its current form.