Trans-Create - Co-Design with Persons with Severe Disabilities

Area of Science:

• Assistive Technology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Disability Studies

Background:

• Technology can enhance lives for persons with severe disabilities.
• Traditional co-design methods face challenges in ensuring meaningful participation and quality outcomes for users with diverse communication needs.
• Effective co-design requires methods that bridge communication gaps and respect users' perspectives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a new co-design approach, termed "trans-create," for developing assistive technology with persons with severe disabilities.
• To address the challenges in communication quality and user perspective during the co-design process.
• To redefine the relationship between designer and user, and the nature of design itself.

Main Methods:

• Developed a "trans-create" process inspired by cross-cultural translation.
• Utilized familiar artifacts that could be dynamically modified with a digital layer.
• Enabled adaptation and redesign of tangible, visual, and auditory qualities through user interaction with artifacts.

Main Results:

• Familiar artifacts served as a communication bridge, facilitating co-design.
• The digital layer allowed for dynamic adaptation and personalization of the assistive technology experience.
• The process blurred the lines between design and use, creating "living works" rather than static designs.

Conclusions:

• The "trans-create" approach offers a promising method for inclusive co-design with individuals with severe disabilities.
• This method enhances communication and ensures that assistive technology is designed from the user's perspective.
• It fosters a hybrid model of design and use, resulting in more adaptive and personalized assistive solutions.