Types, obstacles and sources of empowerment in co-design: the role of shared material objects and processes

Zamenopoulos, Theodore; Lam, Busayawan; Alexiou, Katerina; Kelemen, Mihaela; De Sousa, Sophia; Moffat, Sue; Phillips, Martin

Abstract

© 2019, © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Co-design is intrinsically linked to the notion of empowerment, however little research has focussed specifically on understanding the types, obstacles and sources of empowerment in co-design. This paper combines theoretical investigations with observations derived from co-designed research by academic and non-academic partners to explore these issues, in particular, the role of shared material objects and processes in supporting empowerment during co-design. The paper uses the notions of ‘power over,’ ‘power to’, ‘power with’ and ‘power within’ to tease out different aspects of empowerment, and draws on empirical observations to determine different obstacles and sources associated with each. The study therefore makes a theoretical contribution to the understanding of co-design as an empowerment process and should be useful for design researchers undertaking co-design projects with non-experts.

Citation

Zamenopoulos, T., Lam, B., Alexiou, K., Kelemen, M., De Sousa, S., Moffat, S., & Phillips, M. (2019). Types, obstacles and sources of empowerment in co-design: the role of shared material objects and processes. CoDesign, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2019.1605383

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 5, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Apr 26, 2019
• Publication Date: Apr 26, 2019
• Deposit Date: Sep 16, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 27, 2020
• Journal: CoDesign
• Print ISSN: 1571-0882
• Electronic ISSN: 1745-3755
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 1-20
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2019.1605383
• Keywords: Visual Arts and Performing Arts; Architecture ; Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2622031
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15710882.2019.1605383
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Co-Design on 26/04/2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15710882.2019.1605383
• Contract Date: Sep 16, 2019