"Becoming a designer is not just a matter of honing your practical skills, there’s a new language to get familiar with. This series of articles explores some of the most important words used in studios, websites and universities around the world. It lets you know why these terms are so significant and gives you tips on how to use them to your advantage.”
Aysar Ghassan continues our series on Design Keywords with an article on ‘Participation’.
Aysar Ghassan teaches Automotive and Transport Design at Coventry University. He writes on 21st Century Design Philosophy and Design Education in international journals and conferences.
The push to create better experiences for customers has meant that many designers have become very interested in participation. With the help of David Pinder from the service design consultancy Engine, this article lets you know how participation can work for you.
There are certainly perks to being a wallflower, but in many walks of life people are increasingly interested in participation. Let’s see how it has influenced how very brainy scientists communicate with the rest of us. The well-known physicist Professor Brian Cox says:
Professor Brian Cox
“…years ago it was called ‘the public understanding of science’…[]…we dictated, we were passing information down to the masses…[]…Now the reality is that it’s much more interactive, there’s much more of a conversation. It’s about communicating both ways.” [1]
In other words, science communicators now encourage non-scientists to participate in how science stories are told.
Similarly, in years gone by designers also tended to ‘pass down information’. Rather than getting users involved in the creative process, Walter Gropius—the founder of the Bauhaus School of Art, Design and Architecture—certainly believed designers knew best:
Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus
“The day to day needs of the majority of people are, on the whole, identical. Houses and household appliances are a matter of mass demand and their design has more to do with reason than with passion.” [2]
Like other professionals, designers are changing the relationship between themselves and the public. Many consultancies now encourage ‘conversations’ with non-designers in the quest to create better products and services. This strategy is called participatory design.
Designers began asking users to join in creative activities in the late 1960s [3]. But it is only quite recently that participation has become popular in design agencies worldwide. The success of the creative consultancy IDEO seems to have had much to do with this, for since the early 2000s, IDEO have used this technique to design all kinds of products and services:
IDEO logo
“Working with a panel of six leading otolaryngology surgeons, who participated in brainstorming, rough prototyping, and user testing, the team developed a design that has resulted in dramatically better results for surgeons and patients”. [4]
The internet has helped participation to go viral. With 17,000 people registered as potential on-line collaborators in the creation of the 2009 Fiat Mio concept, the design team had a truly super-human task on their hands. According to Peter Fassbender [5] the man in charge of this project, this effort is well worth making:
“A good designer tries to realise the wishes of everyone, and with this concept car we were truly working on everybody's behalf.”
Fiat Mio concept sketches
Participation is now particularly common in website design. The train operator Eurostar has joined a plethora of companies asking customers to help create their online presence. Instead of just being a ‘top-down’ (organisation→customer) means of communicating journey routes, times and prices, this screen grab show the pride of place Eurostar’s site gives to customers’ experiences and stories (yes, those old chestnuts…).
Eurostar ‘Stories Are Waiting’
The drive for participation also means that companies are going to new lengths to tell their stories online. To help potential customers gain a better understanding of its new sub-brand ‘BMW i’, BMW Group employ operators to participate in live conversations with consumers.
Online Participation on the ‘BMW i’ Website
Let’s now look at how Engine — a London-based multidisciplinary creative agency—helps clients and users to participate in the design process. Founded in 2000, Engine create services which enhance customers' experiences and improve business performance. Their client list includes organisations in the education, transport, utilities, healthcare and insurance sectors.
Engine’s Studio in London. Credit to Engine Group
Engine’s clients participate in each of their 4 phases of project development: Discover; Define; Develop; Deliver. In the Discover phase, clients get involved in in-situ interviews and co-creation workshops. In the Define stage clients participate in choices workshops and in the Develop period, their help is intrinsic in prototyping services.
David Pinder. Credit to Engine Group
David Pinder has been a Senior Service Designer at Engine since 2012. He says there are clear advantages to getting clients involved:
“Clients often know their business challenges better than anyone else.”
Asking clients to take part from the early stages really improves the client-designer relationship:
“Clients take a greater sense of ownership over the work, and it makes implementation less challenging. They value the process and in turn become advocates.”
David says it also helps the design team do their job:
“Involving them in our process allows us to clearly understand what they are, and helps us to design compelling solutions”.
A participatory Design session at Engine. Credit to Engine Group
Because they also value the opinions of people who may use their new services, Engine go to great lengths to involve them in the design process:
“We tend to source users from our clients’ database, our own personal networks, and finally recruitment companies”.
David feels that engaging users in the creation of services helps to reveal perspectives that designers might otherwise miss:
“In the Discover stage they participate in interviews, co-creation workshops, and service safaris. In the Develop phase they take part in desktop walkthroughs and service prototyping. They help us discover insights and opportunities for new and innovative services”.
A participatory Design session at Engine. Credit to Engine Group
Users’ opinions also help Engine’s creative team evaluate their designs:
“Users help us to substantiate the experiences and services we design”
Working with users certainly has its benefits, but in analysing their responses, designers have to become skilled at reading between the lines:
“Users often want to tell you what they think they want you to hear. Therefore the challenge is to dive deeper and uncover their true latent needs and motivations”.
The popularity of participation in design means it is well worth including a project which involves non-designers in your portfolio. If you are at university, this may mean that you will need to get ethical clearance. Many students find this process to be a bit of a pain. However, it is worth going through as ultimately you will show employers that you are able to communicate effectively with non-designers in your quest to create better products, services and (most importantly) experiences. In the age of participatory design, this is an important story to add to others in your repertoire.
As mentioned, working with non-designers requires designers to ‘read between the lines’. The next article in this series talks about an important term which is related to doing just that. This Keyword is empathy.
Read more from the ARTS THREAD series on Design Keywords.
REFERENCES
[1] BBC (2013) Infinite Monkey Cage: Series 9, Episode 6 Science and Spin. Accessed bbc.co.uk
[2] Gropius, W quoted in Spitz, R. (2005) 'Design' Becomes an Issue in Germany. The Design Journal Volume 8, Issue 3, Page 5.
[3] Sanders, E. B.-N. & Stappers, P. J. (2008) Co-creation and the New Landscapes of Design. CoDesign: International Journal of CoCreation in Design and the Arts, Volume 4, Number 1, Pages 5-18.
[4] IDEO (No Date) Diego Powered Dissector System for Gyrus ACMI, ENT Division. Accessed: ideo.com
[5] Autocar (no date) Fiat Mio concept revealed. Accessed: autocar.co.uk
Aysar Ghassan continues our series on Design Keywords with an article on ‘Participation’.
Aysar Ghassan teaches Automotive and Transport Design at Coventry University. He writes on 21st Century Design Philosophy and Design Education in international journals and conferences.
The push to create better experiences for customers has meant that many designers have become very interested in participation. With the help of David Pinder from the service design consultancy Engine, this article lets you know how participation can work for you.
There are certainly perks to being a wallflower, but in many walks of life people are increasingly interested in participation. Let’s see how it has influenced how very brainy scientists communicate with the rest of us. The well-known physicist Professor Brian Cox says:
Professor Brian Cox“…years ago it was called ‘the public understanding of science’…[]…we dictated, we were passing information down to the masses…[]…Now the reality is that it’s much more interactive, there’s much more of a conversation. It’s about communicating both ways.” [1]
In other words, science communicators now encourage non-scientists to participate in how science stories are told.
Similarly, in years gone by designers also tended to ‘pass down information’. Rather than getting users involved in the creative process, Walter Gropius—the founder of the Bauhaus School of Art, Design and Architecture—certainly believed designers knew best:
Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus“The day to day needs of the majority of people are, on the whole, identical. Houses and household appliances are a matter of mass demand and their design has more to do with reason than with passion.” [2]
Like other professionals, designers are changing the relationship between themselves and the public. Many consultancies now encourage ‘conversations’ with non-designers in the quest to create better products and services. This strategy is called participatory design.
Designers began asking users to join in creative activities in the late 1960s [3]. But it is only quite recently that participation has become popular in design agencies worldwide. The success of the creative consultancy IDEO seems to have had much to do with this, for since the early 2000s, IDEO have used this technique to design all kinds of products and services:
IDEO logo“Working with a panel of six leading otolaryngology surgeons, who participated in brainstorming, rough prototyping, and user testing, the team developed a design that has resulted in dramatically better results for surgeons and patients”. [4]
The internet has helped participation to go viral. With 17,000 people registered as potential on-line collaborators in the creation of the 2009 Fiat Mio concept, the design team had a truly super-human task on their hands. According to Peter Fassbender [5] the man in charge of this project, this effort is well worth making:
“A good designer tries to realise the wishes of everyone, and with this concept car we were truly working on everybody's behalf.”
Fiat Mio concept sketchesParticipation is now particularly common in website design. The train operator Eurostar has joined a plethora of companies asking customers to help create their online presence. Instead of just being a ‘top-down’ (organisation→customer) means of communicating journey routes, times and prices, this screen grab show the pride of place Eurostar’s site gives to customers’ experiences and stories (yes, those old chestnuts…).
Eurostar ‘Stories Are Waiting’The drive for participation also means that companies are going to new lengths to tell their stories online. To help potential customers gain a better understanding of its new sub-brand ‘BMW i’, BMW Group employ operators to participate in live conversations with consumers.
Online Participation on the ‘BMW i’ WebsiteLet’s now look at how Engine — a London-based multidisciplinary creative agency—helps clients and users to participate in the design process. Founded in 2000, Engine create services which enhance customers' experiences and improve business performance. Their client list includes organisations in the education, transport, utilities, healthcare and insurance sectors.
Engine’s Studio in London. Credit to Engine GroupEngine’s clients participate in each of their 4 phases of project development: Discover; Define; Develop; Deliver. In the Discover phase, clients get involved in in-situ interviews and co-creation workshops. In the Define stage clients participate in choices workshops and in the Develop period, their help is intrinsic in prototyping services.
David Pinder. Credit to Engine GroupDavid Pinder has been a Senior Service Designer at Engine since 2012. He says there are clear advantages to getting clients involved:
“Clients often know their business challenges better than anyone else.”
Asking clients to take part from the early stages really improves the client-designer relationship:
“Clients take a greater sense of ownership over the work, and it makes implementation less challenging. They value the process and in turn become advocates.”
David says it also helps the design team do their job:
“Involving them in our process allows us to clearly understand what they are, and helps us to design compelling solutions”.
A participatory Design session at Engine. Credit to Engine GroupBecause they also value the opinions of people who may use their new services, Engine go to great lengths to involve them in the design process:
“We tend to source users from our clients’ database, our own personal networks, and finally recruitment companies”.
David feels that engaging users in the creation of services helps to reveal perspectives that designers might otherwise miss:
“In the Discover stage they participate in interviews, co-creation workshops, and service safaris. In the Develop phase they take part in desktop walkthroughs and service prototyping. They help us discover insights and opportunities for new and innovative services”.
A participatory Design session at Engine. Credit to Engine GroupUsers’ opinions also help Engine’s creative team evaluate their designs:
“Users help us to substantiate the experiences and services we design”
Working with users certainly has its benefits, but in analysing their responses, designers have to become skilled at reading between the lines:
“Users often want to tell you what they think they want you to hear. Therefore the challenge is to dive deeper and uncover their true latent needs and motivations”.
The popularity of participation in design means it is well worth including a project which involves non-designers in your portfolio. If you are at university, this may mean that you will need to get ethical clearance. Many students find this process to be a bit of a pain. However, it is worth going through as ultimately you will show employers that you are able to communicate effectively with non-designers in your quest to create better products, services and (most importantly) experiences. In the age of participatory design, this is an important story to add to others in your repertoire.
As mentioned, working with non-designers requires designers to ‘read between the lines’. The next article in this series talks about an important term which is related to doing just that. This Keyword is empathy.
Read more from the ARTS THREAD series on Design Keywords.
REFERENCES
[1] BBC (2013) Infinite Monkey Cage: Series 9, Episode 6 Science and Spin. Accessed bbc.co.uk
[2] Gropius, W quoted in Spitz, R. (2005) 'Design' Becomes an Issue in Germany. The Design Journal Volume 8, Issue 3, Page 5.
[3] Sanders, E. B.-N. & Stappers, P. J. (2008) Co-creation and the New Landscapes of Design. CoDesign: International Journal of CoCreation in Design and the Arts, Volume 4, Number 1, Pages 5-18.
[4] IDEO (No Date) Diego Powered Dissector System for Gyrus ACMI, ENT Division. Accessed: ideo.com
[5] Autocar (no date) Fiat Mio concept revealed. Accessed: autocar.co.uk