Abstract
A growing stream of design research investigates collaborations between artisans and designers, making the case for balanced and systemic approaches. In reality though, such initiatives rarely provoke new understanding or open new perspectives. This research enquiry seeks to address the gap between theory and practice by analysing the dynamics of co-design projects. A guiding framework was built from the literature, composed of three structuring poles: know-how, materials and concepts. Field study was conducted at a French association offering an insertion program to immigrant artisans, which includes a collaborative project with designers. Data was collected through participatory observation and phenomenographic interviews. Results are expressed in form of a typology of projects’ dynamics, leading to recommendations. They relate to preparing the co-design approach, following-up and managing projects, and finally empowering artisans to play an active role in their professional path.
Keywords
artisanship, collaborative projects, project dynamics, empowerment
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2020.113
Citation
Berger, E. (2020) Empowering artisans through design: a case study on the dynamics of collaborative projects, in Boess, S., Cheung, M. and Cain, R. (eds.), Synergy - DRS International Conference 2020, 11-14 August, Held online. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2020.113
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Empowering artisans through design: a case study on the dynamics of collaborative projects
A growing stream of design research investigates collaborations between artisans and designers, making the case for balanced and systemic approaches. In reality though, such initiatives rarely provoke new understanding or open new perspectives. This research enquiry seeks to address the gap between theory and practice by analysing the dynamics of co-design projects. A guiding framework was built from the literature, composed of three structuring poles: know-how, materials and concepts. Field study was conducted at a French association offering an insertion program to immigrant artisans, which includes a collaborative project with designers. Data was collected through participatory observation and phenomenographic interviews. Results are expressed in form of a typology of projects’ dynamics, leading to recommendations. They relate to preparing the co-design approach, following-up and managing projects, and finally empowering artisans to play an active role in their professional path.