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Download fileCultural context and service design: developing critical and meaning-making capacity
conference contribution
posted on 11.05.2017, 10:51 authored by Laura Santamaria, M. Carolina Escobar-Tello, Tracy RossTracy Ross, Erik BohemiaThis paper reports on the experimental introduction of a socio-cultural lens
to the design process, to aid in mapping symbolic aspects of consumption:
i.e. users’ expectations, aspirations and identification needs and the sociocultural
rules at play in the context of the innovation.
An action research intervention was implemented with design students to
investigate how applied semiotics and cultural analysis methods support
user research and meaning-making during the design process. Students
were provided with theories, activities and templates to facilitate the
exploration of global and local socio-cultural trends, positioning of
innovation in the cultural category and mapping codes and other contextual
socio-symbolic signifiers that influence users’ preferences and choices.
Results indicate that cultural context analysis contributes to build critical
thinking skills and capacity in designers, and enables a wider awareness of
the mediating role of design in the acceptance and diffusion of innovations.
History
School
- Loughborough University London