How Does Participation Emerge in Social Design?
Chapters
01:22 – Newcomer of the Year award: visibility for Social Design
07:10 – What is Social Design? Distinction from Universal and Inclusive Design
10:30 – Cookability: co-design with people with tetraplegia
18:12 – Designing Dignity: a menstruation kit for displaced people
25:08 – The role of the designer: observer, translator, maker
30:37 – How is Social Design embedded in current design practice?
33:08 – Next steps: from idea to pilot project
Takeaways
Participation Emerges Through Continuous Dialogue
Genuine participation begins with thorough research and is sustained through ongoing exchange with all stakeholders involved. Interviews, workshops, feedback loops and iterative prototyping are not add-ons but integral to the process. Designing participation means listening, responding and developing solutions together.
Questioning One’s Own Perspective
Social Design requires consciously moving beyond the “I-perspective”. Designers must critically reflect on their own position within structures of power, cultural contexts and diverse lived realities. Design becomes a process of learning and translating – rather than imposing solutions.
Impact Requires Perseverance
Participatory projects are complex, sensitive and often time-intensive. Building trust, developing networks and turning concepts into pilot projects demands patience and commitment. Social Design is not a short-term intervention, but a sustained effort towards greater participation and empowerment.
Design Perspectives Podcast
Wie können wir Design als Hebel für Transformation und wirtschaftlichen Erfolg nutzen? Darüber sprechen wir mit Persönlichkeiten aus Design, Markenführung und Architektur. Sie geben uns Einblicke, wie Transformation, Nachhaltigkeit und wirtschaftlicher Erfolg im Unternehmen Hand in Hand gehen können. Interessant, informativ, inspirierend.