An Overview of Co-Design: Advantages, Challenges and Perspectives of Users’ Involvement in the Design Process

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.

Abstract

Co-design is currently one of the most emergent approaches within design practices. Building on participatory design tradition and User-Centered approach, this approach affirmed in the literature's headlines as well as got adopted in a wide range of practices.  Being described as capable toincrease general processes’ effectiveness by ensuring compatibility between users’ needs and products/services’ features scholars emphasize the advantages of replacing traditional top-down design approaches with a co-design oneWhile highlighting the advantages the field literature alsoindicates several challenges stemming from the adoption of co-design, generally revolving around the need to root the approach into a theoretical framework. According to an analysis of some main contributions developed in the literature, this paper aims to point out potential developments for the field, building on the analysis of the development of the approach throughout decades and analysing the challenges that practitioners and scholars are currently facing. A constructivist approach built on cultural psychology theory is finally argued as a theoretical framework capable to provide an advancement for the field.

Keywords


Aidemark, J., Askenäs, L., Nygårdh, A., & Strömberg, A. (2015). User involvementin the co-design of selfcare support systems for heart failure patients. Procedia Computer Science, 64, p. 118-124.
Alam, I. (2002). An exploratory investigation of user involvement in new service development. Journal of
the Academy of Marketing Science, 30(3), p. 250-261.
Bate,P., & Robert, G. (2007). Bringing user experience to healthcare improvement:The concepts, methods
and practices of experience-based design. Radcliffe Publishing.
Bayazit, N. (2004). Investigating design: A review of forty years of design research. Design issues, 20(1),
p. 16-29.
Binder, T., Brandt, E. & Gregory, J. (2008). Design participation (-s) –a creative commons for ongoing
change. p. 79-83.
Blackwell, R. W., Lowton, K., Robert, G., Grudzen, C., & Grocott, P. (2017). Using Experience-based Codesign with older patients, their families and staff to improve palliative care experiences in the Emergency
Department: A reflective critique on the process and outcomes. International journal of nursing studies, 68,
p. 83-94.
Bradwell, P., & Marr, S. (2008). Making the most of collaboration: An international survey of public
service co-design. London: Demos.
Bredies, K., Chow, R., & Joost, G. (2010). Addressing use as design: a comparison of constructivist design
approaches. The Design Journal, 13(2), p. 156-179.
Brown, V. A., Harris, J. A., & Russell, J. Y. (Eds.). (2010). Tackling wicked problems through the
transdisciplinary imagination. Earthscan.
Buijs, J. A. (1987). Innovation can be taught. Research policy, 16(6), p. 303-314.
An Overview of Co-Design: Advantages, Challenges and Perspectives of Users’ Involvement in the Design Process JDT, Vol. 2, No. 1, June 2021 57
Burns, C., Cottam, H., Vanstone, C., & Winhall, J. (2006). Transformation design. London: Design
Council.
Cahill, C. (2007). Including excluded perspectives in participatory action research. Design Studies, 28(3),
p. 325-340.
Card, S. K. (Ed.). (2018). The psychology of human-computer interaction. Crc Press.
Carroll, J. M. (1996). Encountering others: Reciprocal openings in participatory design and user-centered
design. Human–computer interaction, 11(3), p. 285-290.
Cottam, H., & Leadbeater, C. (2004). Health: Co-creating services. London: Design Council.
Cross, N. (2001). Designerly ways of knowing: Design discipline versus design science. Design Issues,
17(3), p. 49–55.
DiSalvo, C., Lodato, T.,Fries, L.,Schechter, B., & Barnwell, T. (2011).The collective articulation ofissues
as design practice. CoDesign, 7(3-4), p. 185-197.
Dodero, G., Gennari, R., Melonio, A., & Torello,S. (2014).Towards tangible gamified co-design at school:
two studies in primary schools. In Proceedings of the first ACM SIGCHI annual symposium on Computerhuman interaction in play. p. 77-86. ACM.
Dong, A. (2005). The latent semantic approach to studying design team communication. Design
Studies, 26(5), p. 445-461.
Emmanuelides, P. A. (1993). Towards an integrative framework of performance in product development
projects. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 10(4), p. 363-392.
Farrell, K. N. (2011). Tackling wicked problems through the transdisciplinary imagination. Journal of
Environmental Policy and Planning 13(1):75-77
Franke, N., & Piller, F. (2004). Value creation by toolkits for user innovation and design: The case of the
watch market. Journal of product innovation management, 21(6), p. 401-415.
Gutiérrez, K. D., & Jurow, A. S. (2016). Social design experiments: Toward equity by design. Journal of
the Learning Sciences, 25(4), p. 565-598.
Hocking, V. T., Brown, V. A., & Harris, J. A. (2016). Tackling wicked problems through collective design.
Intelligent Buildings International, 8(1), p. 24-36.
Hoyer, W. D., Chandy, R., Dorotic, M., Krafft, M., & Singh, S. S. (2010). Consumer cocreation in new
product development. Journal of Service Research, 13(3), p. 283-296.
IDEO. (2015). The field guide to human-centered design: design kit. IDEO.
Irwin, T. (2015). Transition design: A proposal for a new area of design practice, study, and research.
Design and Culture, 7(2), p. 229-246.
Jonas, W. (1996). Design als systemische Intervention – für ein neues (altes) “postheroisches”
Designverständnis. 17. Designwiss. Kolloquium ‘Objekt und Prozeß’. Halle, Germany, 28–30 November
1996.
Jonas, W., Chow, R., Bredies, K., & Vent, K. (2010). Far Beyond Dualisms in Methodology-An Integrative
Design Research Medium" MAPS". In Proceedings of DRS conference design & complexity.
Kensing, F., and Greenbaum J. (2012). Heritage: Having a Say. In Routledge International Handbook of
Participatory Design, edited by J. Simonsen and T. Robertson, p. 21–36. London: Routledge.
Kleinsmann, M., & Valkenburg, R. (2008). Barriers and enablers for creating shared understanding in codesign projects. Design studies, 29(4), p. 369-386.
An Overview of Co-Design: Advantages, Challenges and Perspectives of Users’ Involvement in the Design Process JDT, Vol. 2, No. 1, June 2021 58
Kristensson, P., & Magnusson, P. R. (2010). Tuning users' innovativeness during ideation. Creativity and
innovation management, 19(2), p. 147-159.
Kristensson, P., Magnusson, P. R., & Matthing, J. (2002). Users as a hidden resource for creativity:
Findings from an experimental study on user involvement. Creativity and innovation management, 11(1),
p. 55-61.
Kujala, S. (2003). User involvement: A review of the benefits and challenges. Behavior and Information
Technology, 22(1), p. 1-16.
Launer, J. (2002). Narrative-based primary care: a practical guide. Radcliffe Publishing.
Leadbeater, C. (2008). We-think: The power of mass creativity. Profile Books Limited.
Lee, Y. (2007). Design participation tactics: involving people in the design of their built
environment (Doctoral dissertation, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University).
Magnusson, P. R. (2003). Benefits of involving users in service innovation. European Journal of Innovation
Management.
Manzini, E. (2007). Design, social innovation and sustainable ways of living: Creative communities and
diffused social enterprise in the transition towards a sustainable network society. Design,Social Innovation
andSustainable Development for Escola de Altos Estudos da Capes e COPPE/UFRJ. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Mitchell, V., Ross, T., May, A., Sims, R., & Parker, C. (2016). Empirical investigation of the impact of
using co-design methods when generating proposals for sustainable travel solutions. CoDesign, 12(4), p.
205-220.
Moenaert, R. K., & Souder, W. E. (1990). An information transfer model for integrating marketing and
R&D personnel in new product development projects. Journal of product innovation management, 7(2), p.
91-107.
Mowrer, O. (1960). Learning theory and behavior. John Wiley & Sons Inc. https://doi.org/10.1037/10802-
000
Nelson, J., Buisine, S., & Aoussat, A. (2009). Design in use:some methodological considerations. In CIRP
MS'09, 42nd CIRP Conference on Manufacturing Systems. p. 3-5.
Norman, D. A., & Draper, S. W. (1986). User centered system design: New perspectives on humancomputer interaction. CRC Press.
Oudshoorn, N., & Pinch, T. (2003). How users matter: the co-construction of users and technology (inside
technology). the MIT Press.
Parker, S., & Heapy, J. (2006). The journey to the interface. London: Demos.
Payne, A. F., Storbacka, K., & Frow, P. (2008). Managing the co-creation of value. Journal of the academy
of marketing science, 36(1), p. 83-96.
Pedersen, J. (2016). War and peace in codesign. CoDesign, 12(3), p. 171-184.
Penuel, W. R., Roschelle, J., & Shechtman, N. (2007). Designing formative assessment software with
teachers: An analysis of the co-design process. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced
Learning, 2(01), p. 51-74.
Pu, W. P., Chen, K., & Shieh, M. D. (2015). The effect of co-design and flow experience on customer
satisfaction and purchase intention online. Issues in Business Management and Economics, 3(4), p. 59-66.
Robert, G. (2013). Participatory action research: using experience-based co-design to improve the quality
of healthcare services. Understanding and Using Experiences: Improving Patient Care. Oxford University
Press, Oxford, p. 138-149.
An Overview of Co-Design: Advantages, Challenges and Perspectives of Users’ Involvement in the Design Process JDT, Vol. 2, No. 1, June 2021 59
Robert, G., Cornwell, J., Locock, L., Purushotham, A., Sturmey, G., & Gager, M. (2015). Patients and staff
as codesigners of healthcare services. BMJ, 350, g7714.
Robertson, T., & Simonsen, J. (2012). Challenges and opportunities in contemporary participatory
design. Design Issues, 28(3), p. 3-9.
Roser, T., & Samson, A. (2009). Co-creation: New paths to value. London: Promise / LSE Enterprise.
Salvatore, S. (2015). Psychology in Black and White: The Project of a Theory Driven Science. IAP.
Sanders, E.B.-N. (2002). From user-centered to participatory design approaches. In, Design and the social
sciences: Making connections. p. 1-8. CRC Press.
Sanders, E.B.-N., (2006). Design research in 2006. Design research quarterly, 1 (1).
Sanders, E. B.-N., and Stappers P. J. (2008). Co-creation and the New Landscapes of Design. CoDesign 4
(1), p. 5–18.
Sanders, E. B.-N., & Stappers, P. J. (2014). Probes, toolkits and prototypes: three approaches to making
in codesigning. CoDesign, 10(1), p. 5-14.
Schön, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner. New York, 1083.
Scott, K., Quist, J., & Bakker, C. (2009). Co-design, social practices and sustainable innovation: involving
users in a living lab exploratory study on bathing. In Proceedings ofPaper for the “Joint Actions on Climate
Change” Conference, Aalborg, Denmark. p. 8-9.
Siu, K. W. M. (2003). Users' creative responses and designers' roles. Design Issues, 19(2), p. 64-73.
Sleeswijk Visser, F. S., Stappers, P. J., Van der Lugt, R., & Sanders, E. B. (2005). Contextmapping:
experiences from practice. CoDesign, 1(2), p. 119-149.
Song, S., Dong, A., & Agogino, A. M. (2003). Time variation of design “story telling” in engineering
design teams. In DS31:Proceedings of ICED 03,the 14th International Conference on Engineering Design,
Stockholm.
Spinuzzi, C. (2005). The methodology of participatory design. Technical communication, 52(2), p. 163-
174.
Ssozi-Mugarura, F., Blake, E., & Rivett, U. (2017). Codesigning with communities to support rural water
management in Uganda. CoDesign, 13(2), p. 110-126.
Stappers, P. J., Hekkert, P., & Keyson, D. (2007). Design for Interaction: Consolidating the User-Centred
Focus in Industrial Design Engineering. In DS 43: Proceedings of E&PDE 2007, the 9th International
Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, University of Northumbria, Newcastle, UK,
13.-14.09. 2007.
Stappers, P. J., Sleeswijk Visser, F., & van der Lugt, R. (2007). Teaching contextmapping to industrial
design students. Proceedings of include 2007, p. 1-6.
Steen, M., Manschot, M., & De Koning, N. (2011). Benefits of co-design in service design
projects. International Journal of Design, 5(2).
Suri, J. F. (2003). The experience of evolution: developments in design practice. The Design Journal, 6(2),
p. 39-48.
Taffe, S. (2015). The hybrid designer/end-user: Revealing paradoxes in co-design. Design studies, 40, p.
39-59.
The King's Fund, (2011). Experience-based co-design. Working with patients to improve health care
[Online]. Available at http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/ebcd
An Overview of Co-Design: Advantages, Challenges and Perspectives of Users’ Involvement in the Design Process JDT, Vol. 2, No. 1, June 2021 60
Trischler, J., Zehrer, A., & Westman, J. (2018). A designerly way of analyzing the customer
experience. Journal of Services Marketing.
Trott, P. (2008). Innovation management and new product development. Pearson education.
Ulrich, P. V., Anderson-Connell, L. J., & Wu, W. (2003). Consumer codesign of apparel for mass
customization. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal.
Valsiner, J., & Rosa, A. (Eds.). (2007). The Cambridge handbook of sociocultural psychology. Cambridge
University Press
Valkenburg, R., & Dorst, K. (1998). The reflective practice of design teams. Design studies, 19(3), 249-
271.
Van Mechelen, M., Derboven, J., Laenen, A., Willems, B., Geerts, D., & Abeele, V. V. (2017). The GLID
method: Moving from design features to underlying values in co-design. International Journal of HumanComputer Studies, 97, p. 116-128.
Vechakul, J., Shrimali, B. P., & Sandhu, J. S. (2015). Human-centered design as an approach for placebased innovation in public health: a case study from Oakland, California. Maternal and child health journal,
19(12), p. 2552-2559.
Whyte, W. F. E. (1991). Participatory action research. Sage Publications, Inc.
Witell, L., Kristensson, P., Gustafsson, A., & Löfgren, M. (2011). Idea generation: customer co-creation
versus traditional market research techniques. Journal of Service Management, 22(2), p. 140-159