Culturally Sensitive Design Tool Kit Developed Through Global Co-Design.

Abstract

Designers are increasingly navigating translocated contexts, presenting the need to develop strong skills in sensitively working with host communities, avoiding surface-level engagements, and considering the longevity, ownership, and impact of designs [1]. This paper reviews a series of co-design workshops organised by Imperial College London and Royal College of Art's MASc Global Innovation Design (GID) students, Abigail Hoover, and Tori Simpson. These workshops assembled a global community of design experts, students, and academics to share their experiences and approaches when designing for diverse communities to create culturally robust design interventions that are contextually innovative in the cultures and communities they exist in. The outcome of these workshops is a collection of co-designed guidelines to support design practitioners in ethical co-design practices, particularly when engaging with communities to which they do not belong. The goal of conducting these workshops was to discuss, and create strategies to avoid design tourism, a concept that straddles many names, including parachute design, design littering, and design imperialism. Meaning 'projects where the primary purpose of the project is the educational or personal development of the visitors, and the resulting ideas are left without any potential for realistic implementation.' [2] This paper outlines the tools, techniques, and knowledge generated through collaborative participation and reflection during the workshops that can be applied within culturally sensitive projects and ever-evolving design environments. It will review the created workshop structure and outcome analysis strategies cataloguing results against pre-existing design ethics structures. These outputs prompt the designer to reflect on their own practice, how they involve users, and what is left behind for communities involved. This paper serves as a valuable resource for designers seeking to navigate design with cultural sensitivity and adaptability, incorporate best practice, as well as new approaches to innovation, and facilitate actionable response to generate sustainable futures.