Sixteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

As far back as the Industrial Revolution, the design field had been operating as the brains behind big corporates and organisations that wanted a competitive edge in their sectors. The race for more significant market share by corporates within a high capitalism structure, unfortunately, leave some long-standing effects which include unfair distribution of power and wealth, social, monopolistic, monopsonistic inequalities and high materialism. The most prevailing of these inequalities is experienced in hierarchal structures where the majority of the population experiences the brunt of the problems and the least amount of relief and power to repair them. It is, therefore, essential to reflect on how much of the world is affected or influenced by design, and with specific focus on interior design, explore how designers can improve their social compact through engagement in design for social innovation. Against this backdrop, this study seeks to contribute towards interior design’s larger footprint in socially innovative projects and help illuminate how interior design could serve a broader number of the world’s population by being active participants of the ever-increasing field of socially responsible design. The study used a descriptive qualitative methodology to critically examine existing literature on social innovation landscape, approaches and socially responsible design. Based on this understanding, the study proposed a conceptual framework for social innovation integration into interior design. This study is viewed as a step forward in moving the interior design industry into adopting more design for social innovation projects.