Pushing the Boundaries of Participatory Design

Participatory Design (PD) is a design approach which aims to support users to contribute as partners throughout the entire design process of a product or service intended for their use. PD researchers are interested in employing and/or developing methods and techniques that maximise users’ contributions. By accommodating specific populations, PD proved to offer unique benefits when designing technology for “fringe” groups. However, a lack of understanding of the appropriateness of existing approaches across groups and contexts presents a challenge for the PD community. This workshop will encourage discussion around this challenge. The participants will have the opportunity to exchange and reflect on their experiences with using PD with “fringe” groups. Moreover, we aim to identify, synthesise and collate PD best practices across contexts and participant groups.