Enhancing the design process with drama-related methods

Lawson, Glyn; Brown, Michael; Coughlan, Tim; Floyde, Anne; Baurley, Sharon; Elliott, Meretta; Koppe, Therese; Tsai, Allen

Abstract

This paper presents a critical review of several applications of drama-related methods to design, discussing their benefits and limitations and providing comment on practical aspects of their implementation. Drama-related methods can shed light on the contexts in which a new product will be used, helping to clarify any potential issues users may have with the design. These methods can improve communication and facilitate more fruitful collaboration between the various stakeholders. Improvisation can be used to improve the effectiveness and reliability of brainstorming sessions. However, the level of acting skill required of the participants needs consideration, and must be appropriate to the purpose of the evaluation. Also, drama methods generally add resources to the design process, and there is a lack of validation studies of tangible improvements to the designed product. We provide recommendations for design-drama approaches with the potential to benefit different stages of a product’s development.

Citation

Lawson, G., Brown, M., Coughlan, T., Floyde, A., Baurley, S., Elliott, M., Koppe, T., & Tsai, A. (in press). Enhancing the design process with drama-related methods. Design Journal, 19(4), https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2016.1176341

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 16, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Jul 5, 2016
• Deposit Date: Mar 11, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 5, 2016
• Journal: Design Journal
• Print ISSN: 1460-6925
• Electronic ISSN: 1756-3062
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 4
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2016.1176341
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/802260
• Publisher URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14606925.2016.1176341
• Additional Information: The Version of Record of this manuscript has been published and is available in Design Journal c2016 http://www.tandfonline.com/ 10.1080/14606925.2016.1176341
• Contract Date: Mar 11, 2016