Understanding the effects of doing co-design and the transitional changes in co-designers.

Brewster, Lee and Cruickshank, Leon and Perez Ojeda, David (2025) Understanding the effects of doing co-design and the transitional changes in co-designers. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

Co-design (Collaborative design) seeks to value the user or participant equitably. Valuing participants lived experiences without changing their position or attempting to train them to be designers is fundamental to co-design methods. Since the early nineteen seventies co-design has gained momentum involving workforces in business, organisations and communities. There is however a lack of research that focusses on the effects that taking part in co-design projects has on participants. This PhD research focuses on this gap in knowledge looking at participants in community contexts in the UK. This research thesis looks deeply at three co-design case studies to try to determine what the effects might be of participating in a co-design project. The research seeks to establish the situations that might have led to the effects impacting any transitional changes in participants behaviour and mindset. Two test bed projects were scrutinised in this research, they were used to examine the effects of participation that were established in the three case studies investigated in this thesis; ‘Project in a Box’ a dispersed co-design project due to the Covid-19 pandemic and ‘Fuse’ a series of in-person workshops for teachers and children. The findings from this thesis firstly, provide new knowledge surrounding the situations that led to participants competently being able to think in a creative, designerly way. For example, shifting between being able to suspend normal consequences and think in an open and playful way, then re-engage with real-world situations and the application of ideas. Crucially this shift to designerly thinking significantly impacted the relationships of the participants not only in the co-design team but also their wider networks. Secondly, it provides new knowledge surrounding the benefits of participating in cyclical co-design activities rather than single instances. For example, adopting a slow approach to collaborative working enabled deep, trusting relationships to develop, this supported those who were less confident participants. And finally, it brings together the multiple effects of participating in co-design activities that can provide a secure base for participants to flourish in co-design situations.