Abstract
Participatory design is a quintessential representation of human-centeredness. The recent climate crisis and threats to survival have pushed designers to consider the well-being of non-human entities. Many designers have already attempted to incorporate non-human entities (including animals, forests, and rivers) into the design process. They have strived to refine and readjust design thinking and practice within the participatory design framework. However, most practices resemble the 'pseudo-participation' of human subjective imagination. This study raises ethical and ontological epistemological issues based on Latour's profound philosophical insights. Specifically, in the case of non-human entities participating in our future becoming, how will the role of design and designers change? This study re-explores the relationship between human and non-human entities in participatory design through cases to expand the boundaries of participatory design and make the design process more inclusive.
Keywords
participatory design; more-than-human ontologies; the anthropocene; sustainability
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.434
Citation
Yang, Z., Wai Michael Siu, K., and Zhao, X. (2024) Expanding participatory design: Reflections on current epistemological framework in dark time, in Gray, C., Ciliotta Chehade, E., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.434
Creative Commons License
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Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
Expanding participatory design: Reflections on current epistemological framework in dark time
Participatory design is a quintessential representation of human-centeredness. The recent climate crisis and threats to survival have pushed designers to consider the well-being of non-human entities. Many designers have already attempted to incorporate non-human entities (including animals, forests, and rivers) into the design process. They have strived to refine and readjust design thinking and practice within the participatory design framework. However, most practices resemble the 'pseudo-participation' of human subjective imagination. This study raises ethical and ontological epistemological issues based on Latour's profound philosophical insights. Specifically, in the case of non-human entities participating in our future becoming, how will the role of design and designers change? This study re-explores the relationship between human and non-human entities in participatory design through cases to expand the boundaries of participatory design and make the design process more inclusive.