3rd Pre-forum for 2022 Seoul Design International Forum Part3
3rd Pre-forum
for 2022 Seoul Design International Forum
Participants: Lee Hyun-sung (Professor of Hongik University), Lee Jong-hyuk (Professor of Kwangwoon University) Seo Seung-gyo (CEO of HiDD Group), Hong Tae-eui (CEO of Public design STU.dio)
Seoul proposed forms such as cognitive health design, stress-free design, and crime prevention design through social problem-solving designs since 2014 and also continuously implemented design projects that realize various public values. We will take a deeper look on the types of issues that are identified by the design in our lives, and how design creates public values through use cases. The 3rd advanced forum will be carried out in the order of the role, strategy and method of design. In the first session, we will look into the role and value of design on universal issues and aging through the design of ‘consideration’. In the second session, we will study the cases of strategy that ‘resolve’ issues in our daily lives through design. Lastly, we will examine the meaning of the ‘governance’ design that is shaped together with citizens.
TALK 3. Value of the public design shaped together with citizens
[Lee Hyun-sung]
The third talk is regarding the Seoul Design Governance. The terminology, 'governance' is sometimes interpreted in various manners like 'design', and recently, the word ‘governance’ is being mentioned frequently in the field of design. Seoul has been operating the program called ‘Seoul Design Governance’ for several years, and in this session, we will look into the significance of governance in our lives, and the role it plays in design.
[Hong Tae-Eui]
The basic concept of governance is ‘alignment’. When we examine the development stage of governance, it started from a hierarchical governance where directions were conveyed from the top to be implemented by the bottom, and is now developing into a network governance where various members participate to resolve issues from an equal base. ‘Bracket Lights’ project that was carried out through Seoul Design Governance is a case where an idea that was directly provided by a citizen who witnessed a collision accident between a bicycle and a pedestrian was implemented as the design solution in the form of network governance.
[Lee Jong-hyuk]
There are cases where a very good design result is produced based on governance, but are limited by various systems or laws when the design is trying to be installed or applied on site. In the process of gaining the consensus of all citizens and realizing the result, it is very important to create an area of agreement that widens the intersection between sympathy and system.
[Seo Seung-gyo]
Coalition-type governance is one that did not exist before and it involves the direct participation of users in discovering issues. In the past, so-called UX experts or relevant designers defined issues and proposed solutions. However, having users participate from the start to define the issues together while using such a governance methodology is a radical design method.
[Hong Tae-Eui]
‘Bracket Lights’ Project broke free from the one-dimensional approach in resolving social issues and approached from a multi-dimensional perspective, including behavior affordance, fun factors, interactive mutual communication and achieving compatibility with the surroundings through governance. In addition, design-based expressions were used to allow people to be inside the sculpture in the form of brackets so that the pedestrians could recognize these even at night.
[Lee Hyun-sung]
There is a saying that 'if traditional design determined the form of an object, now design determines the decision-making behavior.’ This is being realized through the design governance project. Design that involves the process of making decisions through reasonable engagement of various participants can be seen as a new design model with an excellent process.
[Lee Jong-hyuk]
This project started from a small issue that a citizen actually experienced and lead to actual installation of a structure. We have to respect the public infrastructure that is the agent that resolves issues and the process, and this was realized through Seoul Design Governance. In addition, the concept of nudge that was applied to this small structure is effective in resolving the big issue within the community. It is a very meaningful project in that it realized such challenges and imaginations.
[Lee Hyun-sung]
I believe this is a case where various users implemented the innovative design using a governance methodology through engagement and cooperation while applying good tools like nudge in the design process.
[Seo Seung-gyo]
The amount of sustainable value that is created by the design that was realized through the process of innovation is also very important. ‘Bracket Lights’ in the Hangang Park is meaningful in that it provides means for communication between the pedestrian and cyclists, and I believe this is a design that is truly innovative and sustainable.
[Lee Jong-hyuk]
I think we can say that the attempt to communicate with new symbols in a public space is a meaningful innovation.
[Lee Hyun-sung]
Many cases of Seoul Design Governance exhibited the models of design that can be executed in the public space while encouraging public engagement. The true value of Seoul Design Governance lies in the fact that design that was really necessary in the daily lives of the citizens were implemented by looking at the issue at the eye level of the public, and I hope that such models will spread out in the future.
[Hong Tae-Eui]
Projects carried out by Seoul is significant in that it broke away from unilateral projects of the past and is now being made together through the cooperation of various types of people. I hope that governance activities will be actively carried out so that such cases would spread out more in our lives.
[Lee Jong-hyuk]
Public issues continue to evolve and are generated repeatedly in a large city like Seoul. Therefore, it is the duty of the megacity to continuously establish new policies, and the value of design of Seoul is in ‘diversity’. In order to achieve diversity, the city has to position itself as ‘a city that challenges itself in a diverse manner’. Furthermore, rather than having the city show the completed result of design to the citizens in a one-sided manner, more opportunities have to be provided to the citizens so that many citizens can propose their ideas and take on challenges. The role of Seoul would be to enable the megacity to become the venue of participation and to continuously motivate the citizens so that they can take on challenges.
[Lee Jong-hyuk]
Actually, in addition to Seoul, new types of citizens that were not seen in the past are emerging in megacities across the world. Therefore, I believe there will be more opportunities to improve the quality of life for Seoul citizens through the participative governance design in the future. It would be important for Seoul to continuously sympathize with the people while observing them to maintain and supplement the governance system.
[Lee Hyun-sung]
Various experiments were conducted in Seoul since 2014 under the massive question, 'Can social issues be resolved through design?' There is significance in that this question has not ended, and is still is in progress. It also has limitless possibilities. The process of solving problems through design would seep into the daily lives of the citizens, and through this, design would settle in as the culture within our daily lives. Seoul has potential as a new venue for experiment in terms of design and diversity. I believe that design will contribute to completing the future of Seoul if we can further strengthen various design methodologies that were implemented by Seoul.
