On becoming a designer-practitioner- researcher
With the man still lingering nearby, clearly waiting for us to leave, I wanted to end on a note of pride. I reminded the children that many cool spaces—like campsites, music festivals, and markets—are designed to be temporary. I also reminded everyone that we discovered many ways to use the chunky yarn, and that we captured photos to showcase our work. I asked everyone, myself included, to think about what we can do with these things.
Read MoreWe tried to reverse-engineer those “John Nash moments”—hoping to extract a method, a mental algorithm we could teach others. But each time we tried, our conversations circled back to personal experiences, gut feelings, and values. We couldn't extract neat formula. Maybe it’s a kind of complex reasoning that only comes with lived experience and practice.
Read MoreMidway through our first week of preparations, we received an unexpected and urgent call from Han. She anxiously asked if we could arrive the next day to “make the designs.” This felt like a walkback, as we thought we had agreed on not using the conventional way of having quick decisions made between the designer and the village committee while leaving the rest of the community out.
Read MoreWhenever we organize a co-design activity in a village, I always notice the presence of "nonparticipants". This year, I found myself in a similar position for a project I had no desire to be a part in.
Read MoreOn a scorching hot summer day in Shitang Village, I found myself in an impromptu conversation with the children on the difficult topic of governance.
Read MoreSince this is a learning-based event, the challenge we faced was this: what are the ways that a decade of on the ground, local practice be shared, so others can capture the depth and richness of these experiences?
We decided to do this in two ways, in tandem.
Read MoreWe decided, we first need to embody this play experience in what Latour calls the “social thing”, the thing being a system of prompts/toys, and the social being community play behavior.
And After a bunch of research, first and second hand, we honed in on the following design principles:
Read MoreIf I learned anything from design practice, is to be brave to present the real world with really underdeveloped versions of a imagined future. So, I thought, I just need to 1…
Read MoreWhen I was first approached with the project, I was immediately concerned with how effective occasional design workshops could be in bring actual long lasting benefits to the local community. And this is how the idea of the Village Innovation Centre came to me.
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