Abstract
Objects, artifacts, things. All these words are part of design, sometimes as synonyms, sometimes with different meanings. Since the establishment of design schools, designers have been trained to create new or improve existing products; we are good at designing these objects, artifacts and things. However, when we as designers involve ourselves in societal challenges, when we engage in designing for social innovation, how can we use our expertise of designing objects?We will investigate this main research question in this conversation through interactive case study reviews, introduced by the catalysts, and bold propositions. Participants will be asked to take position on these propositions in order to address some key characteristics around designing for social innovation.
Keywords
design for social innovation; design objects; designers role; societal challenges
Citation
van der Voort, M., Buur, J., Binder, T., Linde, P., and den Haan, R. (2016) What Do Designers Have to Offer When Facing Societal Challenges?, in Lloyd, P. and Bohemia, E. (eds.), Future Focused Thinking - DRS International Conference 2016, 27 - 30 June, Brighton, United Kingdom. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2016/conversations/7
Creative Commons License
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What Do Designers Have to Offer When Facing Societal Challenges?
Objects, artifacts, things. All these words are part of design, sometimes as synonyms, sometimes with different meanings. Since the establishment of design schools, designers have been trained to create new or improve existing products; we are good at designing these objects, artifacts and things. However, when we as designers involve ourselves in societal challenges, when we engage in designing for social innovation, how can we use our expertise of designing objects?We will investigate this main research question in this conversation through interactive case study reviews, introduced by the catalysts, and bold propositions. Participants will be asked to take position on these propositions in order to address some key characteristics around designing for social innovation.