Interesting design micro-fictions emerge from our 1st co-design workshop

A number of older people and staff from Age UK Lancashire participated in the half-day co-design workshop run at Lancaster. Working in groups, workshop participants looked at policy document extracts on the themes of ageing, ageing in place and loneliness/isolation and responded to these.

A number of themes emerged from grouping our co-designers responses to policy. These themes were then used to co-create design micro-fictions looking at 5 years, 10 years into the future and beyond, which were shared within the workshop.

Further grouping of the design micro-fictions were grouped revealed a number of interesting themes (i.e. communication, transport, independent living and health economy) and technologies (i.e. Skyping and holograms, self-drive cars, pop-up community buildings, escalators at home/garden and several more) relating to ageing in place and social isolation.

These will be explored in the next series of co-design workshops in Falmouth next week. img_0045 img_0078 img_0102 img_0146_0 img_0148_0 img_0211 img_0215_0 img_0223 img_0232 img_9977

ProtoPublics Sprint Workshop

The ProtoPublics Sprint Workshop took place at Imagination Lancaster on 16-17 April.  A group of 45 researchers- crossing disciplines and practices- got together to test out and explore new methods of ‘doing’ socially engaged design research. Here are some photographs to document the day.

ProtoPublics Sprint Workshop Program

ProtoPublics Sprint Workshop Program

Our principles for the workshop: Agile; Participatory; Collaborative; Creative; Reflexive

Our principles for the workshop: Agile; Participatory; Collaborative; Creative; Reflexive

Participants were asked to arrange their 'assets' on the tables to connect and expand upon our core themes: mobilities; civic participation; health and well-being; public space.

Participants were asked to arrange their ‘assets’ on the tables to connect and expand upon our core themes: mobilities; civic participation; health and well-being; public space.

From this collection of assets, participants could identify interests, priorities and expertise of others in the workshop.

From this collection of assets, participants could identify interests, priorities and expertise of others in the workshop.

From here, participants self-organised into groups to discuss common interests. They were encouraged to move between groups over the course of the two days before fixing on one group with which to put forward a research project pitch.

From here, participants self-organised into groups to discuss common interests. They were encouraged to move between groups over the course of the two days before fixing on one group with which to put forward a research project pitch.

The workshop ended with creative project pitches, some of which took us outside the Imagination Lancaster building.

The workshop ended with creative project pitches, some of which took us outside the Imagination Lancaster building.

Video Interview 9: Graham Pullin

In this video interview, Graham Pullin, Course Director of Digital Interaction Design, University of Dundee, reflects on the cultural differences between researching for academia and industry, the contribution interaction design research has made to conceptions of the social and the challenges of cross-disciplinary work. He also identifies three particular groups of people he is currently seeking to engage with at a deeper level in his research.

Graham also made a short position statement in which he discusses the relationship between two of our core themes: civic participation and health and well-being.

Video Interview 8: Dan Lockton

Dr Dan Lockton, Senior Research Associate at the Helen Hamlyn Centre, RCA, reflects upon research cultures in academia and design practice, the particular approach of design in relation to behaviour change and identifies local councils and communities as groups he is particularly interested in engaging with more in his research.

Dan also made a short position statement on civic participation: