What You Gain and What It Takes: A Student’s Reflection on a Participatory Design Project

Donna Stam, Boudewijn Boon

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volumeConference contributionScientificpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Within1 the field of design various methods are available that allow users to be involved in the design process. Based on a participatory design project in the context of paediatric physiotherapy, this paper shares reflections of a relatively inexperienced design student, trained to involve users in a designer-led fashion. We highlight the values that a participatory approach brought her (i.e. what was gained) and what this approach required of her as a designer (i.e. what it took). The main benefits were a deeper understanding of the context and shared ownership among stakeholders. Achieving these benefits required the student to show qualities of courage, social sensitivity and responsiveness. Our reflection suggests that besides the teaching of methods and techniques, design education should also address the personal or professional qualities that can benefit design students in participatory design projects.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPDC '18 Proceedings of the 15th Participatory Design Conference
Subtitle of host publicationShort Papers, Situated Actions, Workshops and Tutorial
EditorsL. Huybrechts, M. Teli
Place of PublicationNew York
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Pages1-5
Number of pages5
Volume2
ISBN (Electronic)9781450364645
ISBN (Print)978-1-4503-5574-2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018
Event15th Participatory Design Conference, PDC 2018: The 15th Participatory Design Conference - Hasselt and Genk, Belgium
Duration: 20 Aug 201824 Aug 2018
Conference number: 15

Conference

Conference15th Participatory Design Conference, PDC 2018
Abbreviated titlePDC 2018
Country/TerritoryBelgium
CityHasselt and Genk
Period20/08/1824/08/18

Keywords

  • Participatory design
  • co-design
  • generative sessions
  • collaborative reflections
  • shared decision-making

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