Abstract
This paper proposes Designing with Theories as an invitation to approach Legal De-sign practices and studies differently. We take advantage of a rich and diverse theoretical tradition that allows us to expand the applications and impact of Legal Design. Building on diffraction as a methodology, we articulate this invitation by suggesting seven theories and approaches to designing for justice differently. In a generative and provocative style, we ask seven times the question “what if we design for justice from X theory?”. For each theory, we provide the main assumptions, followed by sense-making with examples from a case study on Chilean courts of justice. Each section is divided by a visual intermezzo as a space for reflection. Our contribution is twofold. First, we propose a new approach to Legal Design. Second, we provide fellow researchers and practitioners with new possibilities – and how to create them- to imagine alternative futures for justice.
Keywords
legal design, theories, diffraction, methodology
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2022.697
Citation
Santuber, J., and Edelman, J.A. (2022) Designing with theories: Producing legal design diffractively in courts of justice, 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.2022.697
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
Designing with theories: Producing legal design diffractively in courts of justice
This paper proposes Designing with Theories as an invitation to approach Legal De-sign practices and studies differently. We take advantage of a rich and diverse theoretical tradition that allows us to expand the applications and impact of Legal Design. Building on diffraction as a methodology, we articulate this invitation by suggesting seven theories and approaches to designing for justice differently. In a generative and provocative style, we ask seven times the question “what if we design for justice from X theory?”. For each theory, we provide the main assumptions, followed by sense-making with examples from a case study on Chilean courts of justice. Each section is divided by a visual intermezzo as a space for reflection. Our contribution is twofold. First, we propose a new approach to Legal Design. Second, we provide fellow researchers and practitioners with new possibilities – and how to create them- to imagine alternative futures for justice.