A Culture-Sensitive Perspective on Social Design

The reason for this talk is a sabbatical leave with a mission: an exploration of how social design is studied and practiced in different places and organisations. What should our master’s students learn in a knowledge course about social design? To find answers I planned to visit PoliMi and Aalto University, both known for their strong focus on social design. In addition, a non-European perspective has been chosen by the visit of an African country. Insights collected during my journey, will be used for the development of a new course for the master Design for Interaction. My journey started in Kenya, where I visited various design studios and talked to designers, design researchers, entrepreneurs, and educators in various places in Nairobi, at the Nairobi Design Week, and in Kisumu region. I also spoke with ground-breaking artists and explored places for which solutions are being sought, often in collaboration with the people who are part of the context. In this session I share my experiences and we discuss cultural aspects of social design.

Annemiek van Boeijen is assistant professor of Culture-Sensitive Design at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, TU Delft. Annemiek’s research and teaching focuses on the role of culture in design processes. The aim is to develop, models, design methods, and tools for culture-sensitive design. It is a perspective that highlights the influence of culture regarding designers’ background, the process of designing, and the generated designs.