Innovation Happens Elsewhere, but Where Does Design Happen? Considerations on Design and Participatory Processes in Emerging Information Technologies

Abstract

By taking as departing point the convergence of emerging technologies and their related production practices, this work reflects on design and participatory processes. This contribution tries to highlight how these processes changed from the traditional Information and Software Systems (ISS) context to the emerging one, where technologies are mainly characterized by decentralized and open-ended processes. The paper presents the traditional conception of design as a linear process and problem-solving endeavour and the role that users’ participation has within this frame. It then moves to focus on how design for emergent technologies extends beyond the 'production' phase and on how the distribution of (users-)participants to these technologies intertwine with the endeavour of designing them.