Design for Social Wellbeing

[Edan Weis]

Design for Social Wellbeing: A Case Study of Normative Design Thinking

This research is a comparative study of the design process accross several organizations designing for/with the poor, specifically the early concept/ideation stages of product development. I'm interested in the way designer's "frame" their problems according to their individual perspectives, and how this affects their design process. In "social design", perspectives are often as contested as the development theories they are associated with. The aim of study is to devise methods and practical approaches for design focused on alleviating poverty by examining the design process itself, rather than through external discourses of development economics, sociology of technology, or innovation studies. The research assumes that such discourses—while still important in understanding social design practices—exert a greater influence at the practical level of designing than has been previously recognized.

For more info and to view my work-in-progress, go to: my online work-in-progress wiki!

-Edan Weis
edanweis [at] gmail.com