From Sketching to Prototyping: The Power of Collective Creativity
A key aspect of designerly research methods is their reliance on creative acts of making. Sketching and prototyping together embody the power of collective creativity, blending diverse perspectives to produce innovative solutions. These collaborative activities, fundamental in design, harness the strengths of a group, fostering an environment where ideas can flourish and evolve dynamically. During the last two decades, the role of making in the design process has expanded significantly by adopting new forms and involving a broader range of participants. In this study sketching and prototyping collectively are taken as two forms of making. This involves designers creating tools and participants using these tools to draw and/or create expressive artifacts, and discussing these creations, as well as co-designers creating and evaluating prototypes in iterative cycles. In this context, making is not merely a act for producing or finalising design. Instead, it is a creative process that involves performing, constructing and transforming meaning through the contributions of all involved parties across these various activities; they are often used for opening up for deeper conversations and discussions among the participants. When multiple individuals contribute to making together with designers, a rich tapestry of perspectives emerges, often sparking new insights. This collective effort transcends the limitations of individual thinking, merging different perspectives and approaches into a cohesive vision. This study explores the landscape of design practice by looking into the role of making with a temporal focus and the intention that the designer has in different foci areas.
Canan Akoglu works as Associate Professor at the Lab for Social Design and as Head of Design for People Master’s Programme at Design School Kolding in Denmark. She has a background in architecture together with a PhD degree in industrial design from Istanbul Technical University, Turkey. Her main research and teaching experience cover creative ways of engaging with stakeholders, service design, critical design, co-design, and social design in health, care and wellbeing that contribute to fostering agency and citizenship in everyday life. Two of the recent research projects that Akoglu works in are on healthcare innovation, 4D Picture Project, funded by Horizon EU, led by ERASMUS MC and Leiden University and on youth ‘s wellbeing & community building around cultural events in the southern region of Denmark, funded by Region South. Akoglu’s work has been published in journal such as CoDesign, Design Issues and Design for Health. Prior to her current position, Akoglu worked as the co-founder of the Department of Industrial Design at Ozyegin University in Istanbul.