Co-creation

What it is

Co-creation is at the heart of what we do. We want to design with users in order to see beyond insights and opinions on a situation, an existing design or a proposed solution, and help people discover their own ideas on how to tackle a problem or make the most of an opportunity.

Co-creation is often run in workshops, but can just as easily be done using blogs, diaries and rapid prototyping. We may guide the discussion with questions, provocations and tools, but we understand that the users we are working with are the real experts on themselves. Fundamentally, we’re asking our users ‘what can be done about it?’

What you get

Users gain a sense of ownership of the project and its outcomes, and may even become champions of the project and process within their organisation or group. Co-creative processes are more easily embedded into an organisation’s workings, whether it be a community, a government department or an international company.

Such projects are more sustainable because users gain the capacity to evolve the design in the future, having experienced why design decisions have been made. This, coupled with appropriate tools can even help nurture a culture of innovation and change within an organisation.

When to use it

Co-creation is a powerful tool in many situations, but in particular we have found it to be successful in bringing together the needs and ideas of different types of users within an organisation. We’ve designed schools with students, teachers and local community members and worked with different department heads, ‘front line’ workers and customers when designing service propositions and how they will be delivered. It’s also a useful tool to get people ‘on board’ and help spread the word about the project.