Co-creation through design: Exploring the role of prototyping in processes of co-creation in cross disciplinary collaborations
Fahd Bin Malek Newaz, Joakim Karlsen · 2023
This article examines the role of toolkits and prototypes in processes of Co-creation in cross-disciplinary collaborations. This study focuses on a co-creation initiative involving student teachers, museum educators, teacher educators, and designers, aiming to strengthen school-museum collaborations in Norway. Based on observations, surveys, and interviews of a multi-event and multi-site project to foster co-creation among these stakeholders, we find that toolkits and prototypes as established resources in the field of co-design contributed positively to increased levels of co-creativity. Further, the findings show a large degree of variation in how the particular tools and techniques offered, were utilized by the stakeholders. We understand these variations to be welcome in line with the rationale signaled by co-creation. It underlines how supporting co-creation by design to a large degree is similar to meta-design, to design for further design in use by seeding and providing malleable and tailorable resources. Findings have implications for designers exploring how to adapt the tools and techniques of co-design in supporting cross-sectoral learning and innovation.