Abstract
The current approach of legal design is solution-driven, with design considered a series of methodological steps used to improve existing legal systems. Such an approach fails to address systemic problems within these systems, and can instead exacerbate such issues. So far, there has been insufficient examination into the kinds of design used in conjunction with legal problems. This paper considers the potential of critical design to challenge more fundamental issues than those currently addressed with legal design. Through the project ‘James v Birnmann’, the paper illustrates how critical design can widen the discussion around legal issues, challenging the public’s perception of existing systems, which can assist in legal reform. The paper concludes that whilst it is important that critical design projects take place within the culture of critical design studios, they can also work alongside, inform and challenge more traditional legal design practices.
Keywords
critical design, legal design, world building, popular culture
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2022.393
Citation
Walton, P. (2022) James v Birnmann: The potential of critical design for examining legal issues, in Lockton, D., Lenzi, S., Hekkert, P., Oak, A., Sádaba, J., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2022: Bilbao, 25 June - 3 July, Bilbao, Spain. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2022.393
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
James v Birnmann: The potential of critical design for examining legal issues
The current approach of legal design is solution-driven, with design considered a series of methodological steps used to improve existing legal systems. Such an approach fails to address systemic problems within these systems, and can instead exacerbate such issues. So far, there has been insufficient examination into the kinds of design used in conjunction with legal problems. This paper considers the potential of critical design to challenge more fundamental issues than those currently addressed with legal design. Through the project ‘James v Birnmann’, the paper illustrates how critical design can widen the discussion around legal issues, challenging the public’s perception of existing systems, which can assist in legal reform. The paper concludes that whilst it is important that critical design projects take place within the culture of critical design studios, they can also work alongside, inform and challenge more traditional legal design practices.