Participatory design

Participatory design processes invite real people to provide input, ideas and feedback to researchers and designers in the design of new products and services.

Co-creation approaches are becoming increasingly popular, in order to create solutions that are truly meaningful and relevant to the people who will be using them. They offer the chance to understand the cultural and contextual uses of products or services, when designers work directly with people in their own communities to build a shared understanding of their needs and contexts of living.

Experientia has applied participatory design methods with great success, in particular in designing easy-to-use and effective navigation structures for websites, and in developing product and service concepts for people in developing markets.

Participatory design activities include concept ideation, collaborative prototyping, card sorting, and scenario and / or concept testing — all aimed at fostering the evolution of concepts and the development of prototypes.