Co-design at a Distance: Context, Participation, and Ownership in Geographically Distributed Design Processes

Abstract

This paper aims to understand how effective co-design activities can be carried out with remote and rural communities. Taking a combined ethnographic and participatory approach in our project situated in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, we discuss two iterative phases of scoping, idea-generating, and prototyping and refining. Throughout these accounts we reflect on how creative design methods enhanced shared understandings of local contextual issues; drove us to identify people and resources to enrich the participatory design process; and strengthened their ownership over the project. Building on this we propose a series of recommendations for design researchers to stimulate engagement with communities from remote and rural geographies, support their participation in activities that aim to understand past challenges and successes, and enable them to contribute to the design and development of new outcomes through sustained collaboration.

Keywords:

• co-design
• participation
• distance
• context
• ownership

Acknowledgements

We thank Highlands and Islands Enterprise for their support of Leapfrog and the project participants from the Isle of Mull and the Kyles of Bute for their contributions to the co-design workshops and tool development. We also thank Professor Leon Cruickshank, Professor Tom Inns, Elizabeth Brooks, and Madeline Smith for their guidance and feedback. Leapfrog is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). We gratefully acknowledge their support.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cara Broadley

Cara Broadley is a Research Fellow at The Glasgow School of Art. Focusing on contexts of wellbeing and equality, her research explores the role of visual and participatory design methods and asset-based approaches in engaging with communities.

Paul Smith

Paul Smith is a design researcher and tutor at the Glasgow School of Art. His key research area is in participatory approaches to design, with main interests in transition design, the circular economy, and sustainable design futures.