A Shift in the Research Design Approach: Reporting on the Complexities of the Application of Human Centred Design and the Co-Design Process in a Library Setting
Danelle Heenop, Allan Munro, K.A. Chmela-Jones · The Design Journal · 2019
This paper reports on a practice-based study, re-evaluating the brand and wayfinding design of the Sasolburg Public Library (SPL) through the integration of Human-Centred Design (HCD) thinking, Participatory Action Research (PAR) and the HCD IDEO toolkit. Findings suggest that although HCD is valuable within the realm of research, the integration of HCD processes in practice inhibited the successful finalization of a design outcome, within a library setting. Considering this, tensions are confirmed between the design in practice and the democracy embedded within HCD. By recognizing identified tensions, suggestions are made to better accommodate the divergent roles of the designer and community participant – allowing each to remain a specialist within their designated fields. The findings of this study contribute to the HCD process and its integration within design practice.