Using normative inquiry and co-design to embed inclusive design in social design education

Abstract

Collaborations of universities with different stakeholders can extend students’ learning and result in capacity development among all the collaborators. The project described in this article, SIDe, involved partners from the UK and Turkey who develop a mechanism together to effectively embed inclusive design and co-design in social design education. The knowledge production through normative inquiry and the experience of a shared equal voice among all the partners resulted in the SIDe Model, enabling collaborators to understand their unique contributions. The model was tested with students from four different disciplines at the Faculty of Architecture, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. This article offers original insights into how normative inquiry can be realized in course design and project execution to drive inclusion in social design education; it also provides the improved design process model – the SIDe model – to facilitate potential wider adoption of the good practice.

Keywords:

• Inclusive design
• co-design
• social design
• design education
• normative inquiry

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank John Clarkson, Daniel Charny, Sema Ergönül, Şenay Çabuk, İnci Olgun, Ömer Devrim Aksoyak, George Torrens, Serpil Acar, Serim Dinç, Haiou Zhu, the Six Dots Foundation for the Blinds and the Spinal Cord Paralytics Association of Turkey for their immense contribution to the SIDe Project. We would like to thank the reviewers and the editor for helping improve the quality of the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The project was funded by the British Council through the Newton Fund, Research Environment Links UK-Turkey Programme.

Notes on contributors

Abdusselam Selami Cifter

Abdusselam Selami Cifter received his bachelor's degree in Industrial Design from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul/Turkiye. In 2008, he received a Postgraduate Study Abroad Grant from the Turkish Board of Higher Education, and joined Brunel University’s (London/UK) Human-Centered Design Institute as a Ph.D. researcher. His Ph.D. research investigated both lay users’ characteristics and designers’ perspectives regarding home-use medical devices, and provided information and suggestions to address user needs and expectations. After his Ph.D., Abdusselam returned to the Department of Industrial Design of the Faculty of Architecture of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and currently working as an Associate Professor. He has been involved in several research/design projects in the areas of medical devices, inclusive design, the collaboration with university and civil society organisations, and design education. His research interests are focused on home-use medical devices, the design process of medical devices, inclusive design, and human centred design.

Hua Dong

Hua Dong is Professor and Head of Brunel Design School at Brunel University London. Her research interests relate to inclusive design and she has published more than 200 papers in design and engineering journals, conferences and books. She was the guest editor for the Design for All Newsletter in India (2010), the ‘Alldesign’ special issue on inclusive design in China (2011), and the Chinese ‘Design’ magazine Special issue on inclusive design (2020). She has edited six books, including ‘Design for Inclusivity’ (2007) and ‘Inclusive Design: Chinese Archive’ (2019). Hua has been an organizer and editor of the Cambridge Workshop on Universal Access and Assistive Technology (CWUAAT) since 2014. She is the convenor of the Inclusive design research special interest group (InclusiveSIG) of the Design Research Society (DRS), and was elected DRS Fellow in 2019. Hua has collaborated with researchers and industries in the UK, China, Japan, Italy, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Turkey. She has helped Ant Financial, part of the Chinese Alibaba Group to launch their first inclusive design guidance.

Sharon Cook

Sharon Cook, with her background in Human Factors/Ergonomics, Sharon is concerned with meeting peoples’ needs through design. Her work has resulted in amendments to European design regulations and also a licence, and has been recognised through a ‘Queens Anniversary Prize’ New cover page due to the change in the title of the paper as well as the ‘President’s Award’ and ‘Ergonomics Design Award’ both received from the UK Chartered Institute of Ergonomics of Human Factors. She has undertaken research projects in Inclusive Design for the European Union and for the UK government and has developed highly innovative Inclusive Design tools in the form of wearable simulations of health conditions which have achieved international impact. She teaches Inclusive Design at undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD levels and also offers industry training.

Aylin Ayna

Aylin Ayna graduated from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (MSFAU), Department of Architecture in 2008. Since 2009, she has been working as a member of MSFAU - Faculty of Architecture. She got her master’s degree in 2011 in MSFAU with the thesis on “Sensorial and Perceptual Dimensions of Space within the Framework of Body-Space Relations”. In 2013-2014, she had been in Politecnico di Torino (Italy) for a year for her researches and conducted some of the pilot studies of her PhD thesis. She completed her PhD in 2018, in MSFAU, with the thesis titled “Spatial Multi-Sensoriality Through the Experiences and Spatial Perception of Visually Disabled Individuals”. She carries out researches and gives lectures in the fields of "body-space relations, spatial sensory and perception, multi-sensory and interaction, universal/inclusive design, accessibility, environmental design, social responsibility". She participates in "Architectural Design Studios I–II–III–IV" in Faculty of Architecture. She takes part in national and/or international academic events, conferences, symposiums, biennials; participates in national and/or international research projects as a researcher or a coordinator; conducts studies within the intersection of art and design such as workshops and exhibitions.