Short answer

Integrate direct participation and collaboration with members of marginalized communities throughout the entire design lifecycle to ensure solutions are relevant, empowering, and effective.

Field: User-Centred Design
Source: Journal on Interactive Systems (2018)
Method: Semioparticipatory codesign
Evidence: Moderate effect

Actively involving members of a target community in the design process, rather than designing for them, leads to digital systems that better address their specific needs and social issues. This user-centred design research insight is drawn from a 2018 study published in Journal on Interactive Systems. Using Semioparticipatory codesign, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Integrate direct participation and collaboration with members of marginalized communities throughout the entire design lifecycle to ensure solutions are relevant, empowering, and effective.

Study

User-Centred DesignHigh ImpactModerate effect

Codesign with marginalized communities yields more impactful and relevant digital solutions.

Actively involving members of a target community in the design process, rather than designing for them, leads to digital systems that better address their specific needs and social issues.

Journal on Interactive Systems · 2018

Key Findings

01There is a notable lack of consideration for LGBT individuals as designers and a deficit in critical approaches within existing HCI and mobile application design.
02Few mobile applications explicitly state a critical goal, despite their potential to influence health, empathy, safety, and sociability.
03A codesign approach can facilitate the development of systems that are more attuned to the specific needs and challenges of marginalized communities.

Application

Design takeaway

Integrate direct participation and collaboration with members of marginalized communities throughout the entire design lifecycle to ensure solutions are relevant, empowering, and effective.

How to apply

When designing for any community facing social exclusion or prejudice, initiate collaborative workshops early in the design process, ensuring participants have agency and their perspectives are central to concept development.

Project actions

01Consider who your target users are and if they belong to any marginalized groups.
02Explore methods for involving these users directly in your design process, not just for testing, but for ideation and concept development.

Method & Evidence

AimHow can codesign methodologies be employed to develop mobile applications that effectively support and protect marginalized communities, such as the LGBT population?

MethodSemioparticipatory codesign

ProcedureThe research involved a review of existing literature on LGBT issues in HCI and mobile applications, followed by codesign activities where volunteers from the LGBT community discussed the relationship between mobile technology and their issues. This led to the conceptualization of a novel application.

ContextDevelopment of mobile applications for social support and protection of marginalized groups.

Variables

IVInvolvement of marginalized community members in the design process (codesign vs. traditional design).

DVEffectiveness and relevance of the designed mobile application in addressing community issues (e.g., support, protection, empathy).

CVFocus on mobile applications, specific social issues faced by the LGBT community.

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

+Addresses a critical gap in HCI literature regarding the design for marginalized groups.
+Proposes a practical methodology (semioparticipatory codesign) for inclusive design.

Limitations

The findings are specific to the LGBT community and mobile applications; applying them to other contexts might require adjustments. The 'semioparticipatory' nature means the degree of user control might vary.

Reliability & validity

The reliability of the findings might be limited by the specific context and participants of the codesign sessions. Validity is strengthened by the review of existing literature and the focus on a specific, under-addressed area.

Think critically

To what extent can a 'semioparticipatory' approach truly empower a marginalized community, and what are the potential risks if the power dynamic remains unbalanced?

Design Principles

"Emancipatory design: Design systems in collaboration with, rather than for, marginalized groups to foster empowerment and address systemic issues."

Traditional design approaches often overlook the unique lived experiences and perspectives of marginalized groups. Codesign empowers these communities, ensuring that digital products are not only usable but also socially responsible and effective in addressing complex issues like prejudice and exclusion.

What This Means for Your Design

When you design something for a group of people, especially a group that faces challenges, it's much better to work *with* them to create it, rather than just designing *for* them. This way, the final product will actually help them better.

How to use in your project

1.Reference this study when justifying the use of codesign or participatory design methods, particularly when your design project aims to address social issues or support marginalized communities.

Add to My Project

Quick Cite

Paragraph starter

This research highlights the critical importance of codesign methodologies when developing systems for marginalized communities, such as the LGBT population. By actively involving these groups in the design process, rather than designing for them, it is possible to create digital solutions that are more relevant, empowering, and effective in addressing complex social issues like prejudice and exclusion, as demonstrated by the conceptualization of a novel application designed to offer support and protection.

Source

Journal on Interactive Systems

Codesigning emancipatory systems: a study on mobile applications and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues

journal · 2018

View source

Questions About This Research

What does the research say about codesign with marginalized communities yields more impactful and relevant digital solutions?: Integrate direct participation and collaboration with members of marginalized communities throughout the entire design lifecycle to ensure solutions are relevant, empowering, and effective. Evidence: Journal on Interactive Systems (2018).
Why does "Codesign with marginalized communities yields more impactful and relevant digital solutions." matter for design?: Traditional design approaches often overlook the unique lived experiences and perspectives of marginalized groups. Codesign empowers these communities, ensuring that digital products are not only usable but also socially responsible and effective in addressing complex issues like prejudice and exclusion.
How can designers apply this research?: Integrate direct participation and collaboration with members of marginalized communities throughout the entire design lifecycle to ensure solutions are relevant, empowering, and effective.
What were the main findings?: There is a notable lack of consideration for LGBT individuals as designers and a deficit in critical approaches within existing HCI and mobile application design.. Few mobile applications explicitly state a critical goal, despite their potential to influence health, empathy, safety, and sociability.. A codesign approach can facilitate the development of systems that are more attuned to the specific needs and challenges of marginalized communities.
What research method was used?: Semioparticipatory codesign.
How strong is the evidence?: Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2018 journal from Journal on Interactive Systems.
What should I do differently in my next project?: When designing for any community facing social exclusion or prejudice, initiate collaborative workshops early in the design process, ensuring participants have agency and their perspectives are central to concept development.
What are the limitations?: The study focused on a specific community (LGBT) and may not be directly generalizable to all marginalized groups without adaptation. The semioparticipatory nature might limit the depth of control community members have over the final design.