Thirteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

The paper explores the synergies established between decentralized collaborative communities and digital enabling environments for the design, the materialization, and the development of new products and services. The paper aims to investigate how digital ecosystems can support global creative communities, allowing access to multidisciplinary knowledge and skills not directly available by confronting local actors; to understanding how these processes allow the design of projects that are global but, at the same time, can maintain the specific characteristics of the different local contexts where they will be implemented; to deepening the unique human relationships that are generated within these physical/digital hybrid contexts. Within a theoretical framework developed, based on a literature review of interaction processes and participatory design through digital environments, the paper will present case studies of global creative communities that have successfully exploited digital platforms for the development of projects which would not have been feasible if developed simply in the local/physical environment. Case studies will offer the opportunity to reflect on how these human ecosystems augmented by technology can develop virtuous learning processes and their impact on the design practice. Case studies will be selected among the most relevant in fields that can be considered as advanced in the development of digital design approach: digital fabrication, civic design, and social entrepreneurship. Based on these experiences, the paper will reflect on how the synergies between creative communities and digital platforms can trigger virtuous processes of social, reputational and professional empowerment for the designer.