The clothesline approach to notions in participatory design

Paper in proceeding, 2016

We invite researchers and practitioners to bring a plurality of perspectives and expertise related to the use of problematic notions in participatory design. How could a change of notions affect our perspective on participation and design? The aim of the full day workshop is to apply a clothesline approach in order to identify and sort, wash and tumble, some of the notions used in the community, and air them for better alternatives. We will do this by 1) critically identifying why certain notions are or have been problematic, 2) elaborating on them to raise awareness of their possible interpretations and implications in order to find alternatives that are usable across different Participatory Design (PD) settings. The outcome of the workshop is to contribute to elucidate how notions and their connotations frame participatory design practice, hopefully in a joint workshop publication.