Resumen de Fusion of horizons: Co-designing with Cambodian children who have prosthetic legs, using generative design tools
Sofía Hussain, Elisabeth B. N. Sanders
This paper presents a field study exploring the challenges and implications of applying a participatory design process through the use of generative design tools with children using prosthetic legs in rural Cambodia in order to facilitate their involvement in the design process. First, it reviews the main research paradigms in which user research is conducted, including positivism, critical theory and interpretivism, and compares the paradigms in terms of the motives they carry for involving users in the design process. The case is then positioned in the interpretivistic research paradigm using philosophical hermeneutics as a guide. As the first application of generative design tools with children in developing countries who have special needs, the case revealed many challenges and pointed to the need to go well beyond the contextual domains typically addressed in user-centred or product-centred design today. The paper concludes by presenting the pyramid model, which designers can use to obtain an overview of the knowledge they need for developing a relevant solution, and to reflect upon how their understanding develops in this process.
