Liesbeth Huybrechts
ABSTRACT
This paper discusses counterfactual scripting as a framework to critically inquire and give form to design decisions in Participatory Design (PD) processes. The stories of what has happened in a design process are often told in a clear storyline that develops logically via different design moves towards a well-defined plot. Counterfactual scripting is a rejection of this teleological perspective. Inspired by counterfactual history, counterfactual scripting gives form to the PD process via the creation of plausible alternatives for the past and speculations about the future. In this way, the (materialised) counterfactual script facilitates in the perception of a more pluralistic view of past and future. In this paper we form the basis for a framework of counterfactual scripting by connecting theory on decision-making in PD with theory on counterfactual thinking in history and design. This framework is applied and evaluated in a case study in participatory spatial planning.
- Akrich, M. 1992. The de-scription of technical objects. Shaping technology/building society: 205--224.Google Scholar
- Andersen, L., Danholt, P., Halskov, K. Brodersen Hansen, N. and Lauritsen, P. 2015. Participation as a matter of concern in participatory design. CoDesign 11, 3-4: 250--261. DOI=http://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2015.1081246Google ScholarCross Ref
- Arnstein, S. 1969. A ladder of citizen participation. Journal of the American Institute of planners 35, 4: 216--224.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Binder, T. 1999. Setting the Stage for Improvised Video Scenarios. CHI '99 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, ACM, 230--231. DOI=http://doi.org/10.1145/632716.632859 Google ScholarDigital Library
- Binder, T., Brandt, E., Ehn, P. and Halse, J. 2015. Democratic design experiments: between parliament and laboratory. CoDesign 11, 3-4: 152--165. DOI=http://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2015.1081248Google ScholarCross Ref
- Bleecker, J. 2009. Design Fiction: A Short Essay on Design, Science, Fact and Fiction -- Near Future Laboratory. Retrieved January 6, 2016 from http://blog.nearfuturelaboratory.com/2009/03/17/design-fiction-a-short-essay-on-design-science-fact-and-fiction/Google Scholar
- Brandt, E. and Grunnet, C. 2000. Evoking the future: Drama and props in user centered design. Proc. of PDC 2000. 11--20.Google Scholar
- Bratteteig, T. and Wagner, I. 2012. Disentangling power and decision-making in participatory design. Proceedings of the 12th Participatory Design Conference. ACM, 41--50. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Bratteteig, T. and Wagner, I. 2014. Disentangling Participation. Springer International Publishing, Cham. Google ScholarDigital Library
- De Bie, M., Oosterlinck, S. and De Blust, S. 2012. Participatie, ontwerp en toe-eigening in een democratische stadsvernieuwing. In Stadsvernieuwingsprojecten in Vlaanderen (2002-2011): een eigenzinnige praktijk in Europees perspectief. ASP nv, 29--33.Google Scholar
- De Bleeckere, S. and De Ridder, R. 2014. Het open kerkgebouw. Pelckmans.Google Scholar
- DiSalvo, C. 2009. Design and the Construction of Publics. Design issues 25, 1: 48--63. DOI=http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/desi.2009.25.1.48Google Scholar
- DiSalvo, C., Clement, A. and Pipek, V. 2012. Participatory Design For, With, and By Communities. In International Handbook of Participatory Desig. Routledge, Oxford, 182--209. DOI=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203108543.ch8Google Scholar
- Ehn, P. 1988. Work-oriented design of computer artifacts. Hillsdale, NJ, USA: L. Erlbaum Associates Inc. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Ehn, P. and Sjögren, D. 1992. From system descriptions to scripts for action. In Design at Work. Greenbaum, J. and Kyng, M. (eds.). L. Erlbaum Associates Inc., Hillsdale, NJ, 241--268. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Ertner, M., Kragelund, A. and Malmborg, L. 2010. Five Enunciations of Empowerment in Participatory Design. Proc. of the 11th Biennial Participatory Design Conference, ACM, 191--194. DOI=http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1900441.1900475 Google ScholarDigital Library
- Ferguson, N. 2000. Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals. Basic Books.Google Scholar
- Geertz, C. 1994. Thick description: Toward an interpretive theory of culture. Readings in the philosophy of social science: 213--231.Google Scholar
- Ginderachter, M., Aerts, K. and Vrints, A. 2015. Het land dat nooit was: een tegenfeitelijke geschiedenis van België. Bezige Bij.Google Scholar
- Godfrey-Smith, P. 2009. Causal Pluralism. In The Oxford Handbook of Causation, Helen Beebee, Peter Menzies and Christopher Hitchcock (eds.). Oxford University Press, 326--337.Google Scholar
- Goffman, G. 1974. Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
- Gonzatto, R., Amstel, F., Merkle, L. and Hartmann, T. 2013. The ideology of the future in design fictions. Digital Creativity 24, 1: 36--45.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Hales, D. 2013. Design fictions an introduction and provisional taxonomy. Digital Creativity 24, 1: 1--10. DOI=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14626268.2013.769453Google ScholarCross Ref
- Hitchcock, C. 2007. How to be a Causal Pluralist. In Thinking About Causes: From Greek Philosophy to Modern Physics, Machamer, P. and Wolters, G. (eds.). Un. of Pittsburgh Press, 200--221.Google Scholar
- Huybrechts, L. and Jansen, S. 2009. Carefree living in the elderly care. A description of an experience design research process. Royal C. of Art, Helen Hamlyn Research Centre, 1--6.Google Scholar
- Latour, B. and Weibel, P. 2005. Making Things Public: Atmospheres of Democracy. The MIT Press.Google Scholar
- Lebow. R. 2007. Counterfactual Thought Experiments: A Necessary Teaching Tool. The History Teacher 40, 2: 153--176.Google Scholar
- Lewis, D. 1973. Counterfactuals. Blackwell Publishers.Google Scholar
- Lincoln, Y. and Guba, E. 1985. Naturalistic inquiry. Sage.Google Scholar
- Lukens, J. and DiSalvo, C. 2011. Speculative Design and Technological Fluency. Int. Journal of Learning and Media 3, 4: 23--40. DOI=http://doi.org/10.1162/IJLM_a_00080Google ScholarCross Ref
- Sanders, E. and Stappers, P. 2008. Co-creation and the new landscapes of design. CoDesign 4, 1: 5--18. DOI=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15710880701875068Google ScholarCross Ref
- Telier, A., Binder, T., De Michelis, G., Ehn, P., Jacucci, G. and Wagner, I. 2011. Design things. MIT Press.Google Scholar
- Wakkary, R., Odom, W., Hauser, S., Hertz, G. and Lin, H. 2015. Material Speculation: Actual Artifacts for Critical Inquiry. Aarhus Series on Human Centered Computing 1, 1: 12. DOI=http://dx.doi.org/10.7146/aahcc.v1i1.21299Google ScholarDigital Library
- Ytreberg, E. 2002. Erving Goffman as a theorist of the mass media. Critical Studies in Media Communication 19, 4: 481--497. DOI=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07393180216570Google ScholarCross Ref
Index Terms
- Counterfactual scripting: acknowledging the past as a resource for PD
Recommendations
The role of design fiction in participatory design processes
NordiCHI '18: Proceedings of the 10th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer InteractionParticipatory design is in essence very malleable as any design technique could lend itself to it, as long as users and stakeholders are involved. Design fictions however, have more often been used as either a vehicle for critical designs, or as a sheer ...
Utopias of participation: design, criticality, and emancipation
PDC '14: Proceedings of the 13th Participatory Design Conference: Short Papers, Industry Cases, Workshop Descriptions, Doctoral Consortium papers, and Keynote abstracts - Volume 2From its earliest incarnation in labor movements in Scandinavia in the 1970s, Participatory Design has had an emancipatory politics inscribed in it. As PD is appropriated in other contexts, this emancipatory politics can continue to be foregrounded or, ...
The early shaping of participatory design at PDC
PDC '16: Proceedings of the 14th Participatory Design Conference: Short Papers, Interactive Exhibitions, Workshops - Volume 2For 25 years the Participatory Design Conference (PDC) has been concerned with the understanding and development of Participatory Design in theory and practice. The main contribution of this paper is an informed understanding of how the participatory ...
Comments