Abstract
This study confronts the theoretical challenges arising from the increasing practical overlap of Participatory Design (PD) and Co-Design. Existing research, largely confined to method comparisons, lacks an ontological perspective capable of explaining its underlying integrative mechanisms. To address this critical gap, this paper argues for a fundamental ontological shift. We introduce the concept of 'generative events' as the basic ontological unit of design, a concept constructed by synthesising Object-Oriented Design Ontology (OODO) with Process Ontology. This framework reframes design as a dynamic generative process where humans and non-human objects collaboratively construct relationships and meaning within specific contexts. The contribution of this research is to provide a unified theoretical foundation for understanding the fusion of PD and Co-Design, and it proposes a crucial methodological paradigm shift from a 'tool logic' to an 'event logic'. By doing so, this paper develops non-human centred methods and the ontological deepening of 'design as research'.
Keywords
Participatory Design, Co-Design, Design Ontology
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.411
Citation
Yu, F., and Zhao, Q. (2026) Reframing design through events: Generative events as ontological units in object-oriented design ontology, 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.2026.411
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Reframing design through events: Generative events as ontological units in object-oriented design ontology
This study confronts the theoretical challenges arising from the increasing practical overlap of Participatory Design (PD) and Co-Design. Existing research, largely confined to method comparisons, lacks an ontological perspective capable of explaining its underlying integrative mechanisms. To address this critical gap, this paper argues for a fundamental ontological shift. We introduce the concept of 'generative events' as the basic ontological unit of design, a concept constructed by synthesising Object-Oriented Design Ontology (OODO) with Process Ontology. This framework reframes design as a dynamic generative process where humans and non-human objects collaboratively construct relationships and meaning within specific contexts. The contribution of this research is to provide a unified theoretical foundation for understanding the fusion of PD and Co-Design, and it proposes a crucial methodological paradigm shift from a 'tool logic' to an 'event logic'. By doing so, this paper develops non-human centred methods and the ontological deepening of 'design as research'.