Abstract
This editorial introduces the theme track ‘Design for and with values in designing for social change’. Building on prior work that frame ethics as an invitation to care, the track focuse on values as a central construct in socially engaged design. It responds to a growing need to move beyond abstract value frameworks toward understanding how values are elicited, surfaced, negotiated, and enacted in practice. Drawing on 24 selected papers, we reveal a strongly interdisciplinary collection where participatory design emerges as a dominant method. The contributions are organized into four overlapping themes revolving around the concepts of power, methods, dignity and care. The track highlights both instrumental and critical approaches as well as top-down and bottom-up value articulations. With this, it emphasizes the importance of context, relationality, and reflexivity in socially engaged design.
Keywords
design ethics; design for values; situated practice, dignity, participatory design
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.242
Citation
Ozkaramanli, D., Abou Eddahab-Burke, F., Celik, S., Slingerland, G., Nagenborg, M., Gulbransen-Diaz, N., and Hepburn, L. (2026) Design for and with values in designing for social change (Design Ethics SIG), in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.242
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Design for and with values in designing for social change (Design Ethics SIG)
This editorial introduces the theme track ‘Design for and with values in designing for social change’. Building on prior work that frame ethics as an invitation to care, the track focuse on values as a central construct in socially engaged design. It responds to a growing need to move beyond abstract value frameworks toward understanding how values are elicited, surfaced, negotiated, and enacted in practice. Drawing on 24 selected papers, we reveal a strongly interdisciplinary collection where participatory design emerges as a dominant method. The contributions are organized into four overlapping themes revolving around the concepts of power, methods, dignity and care. The track highlights both instrumental and critical approaches as well as top-down and bottom-up value articulations. With this, it emphasizes the importance of context, relationality, and reflexivity in socially engaged design.