Abstract
This paper investigates how critical design can challenge universalist frameworks in design education and open up space for pluriversal perspectives. We explore the use of provocative probes as a concrete pedagogical method for cultivating pluriversal thinking and critical reflection. Our theoretical reflections are empirically grounded in a one-week workshop in which design students created and deployed provocative probes to surface experiences of those who ‘misfit’ and to initiate public interactions around these lived experiences. The notion of misfitting was used to introduce complexity and reflexivity. Findings show that while students began to delink from solutionist thinking and engage with plural perspectives, the practical constraints of the workshop limited opportunities for deeper systemic understanding. The paper concludes by discussing the epistemic and pedagogical implications of fostering pluriversal and critical design education within universalist institutional structures.
Keywords
Critical design, Pluriversal design, Design education, Design for complexity
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.797
Citation
Kenis, K., Gruyters, M., Moons, S., Vaes, K., and Van Goidsenhoven, L. (2026) Made to misfit: Critical design as a tool for pluriversal thinking in design education, 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.2026.797
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Made to misfit: Critical design as a tool for pluriversal thinking in design education
This paper investigates how critical design can challenge universalist frameworks in design education and open up space for pluriversal perspectives. We explore the use of provocative probes as a concrete pedagogical method for cultivating pluriversal thinking and critical reflection. Our theoretical reflections are empirically grounded in a one-week workshop in which design students created and deployed provocative probes to surface experiences of those who ‘misfit’ and to initiate public interactions around these lived experiences. The notion of misfitting was used to introduce complexity and reflexivity. Findings show that while students began to delink from solutionist thinking and engage with plural perspectives, the practical constraints of the workshop limited opportunities for deeper systemic understanding. The paper concludes by discussing the epistemic and pedagogical implications of fostering pluriversal and critical design education within universalist institutional structures.