Introducing Co-Design Theory and Practice in Seoul: A Practical Workshop

Discovering what human-centered design is and why it matters through an engaging, activity-based seminar.

By Sueyoon Lee | May 30, 2024

Participants engaged in a braindump activity during the seminar (p.c. sueyoon)

Why Does a Human-Centered Approach Matter?

In fast-paced environments with limited budgets and resources, project teams often adopt a top-down approach, leaving little time to truly understand users. This is a common issue faced by design and UX researchers in Korea, where their insights are frequently overlooked in favor of what company leaders prioritize.

Teams tend to adopt agile methods and rely heavily on data, but this data often reflects product usage, focusing only on results and not addressing the underlying core issues. A purely result-driven approach can miss the deeper insights needed to create truly user-centered solutions.

To address these challenges, Yeonju and I hosted an interactive design seminar at Maru 360 in Seoul. Drawing on our experiences studying and working in the Netherlands as designers and researchers, we aimed to share the benefits of co-design and user-centered design with participants from diverse backgrounds—including designers, researchers, and startup CEOs.

How the session unfolded

• Part 1: Introducing Co-design - what it is and how it’s used (1 Hour)

  • Theory – Yeonju introduced the core concepts of the creative problem-solving process and ‘vision-in-product design.’

  • Workshop Case Study – I presented my experience running a co-design workshop on "Visionizing a New Theatre Experience via AR Technology" for a theatre in Athens, Greece. This case study detailed the research strategy and offered practical advice on structuring and executing co-design workshops.

• Part 2: Co-design practice (1 Hour)

  • We introduced two design techniques: the Abstraction Ladder and Interactive Brain-Sketching, which participants applied to their own or company-related problems.

Part 1: Introducing Co-design - what it is and how it’s used

An overview of how the co-design workshop is used in the research procedure (p.c. sueyoon) 

In the first hour, we introduced the concept of co-design, focusing on both theory and practical application. While emphasizing the importance of the underlying theory and concepts of the creative problem-solving process and co-design, I wanted to ensure the audience could clearly see how these ideas apply in real-world design scenarios. To achieve this, I presented a case study that illustrated the step-by-step procedure, timeline, and structure I use when planning co-design workshops.

The audience showed a particular interest in the practical aspects, including real-world applications, costs, and strategies for persuading stakeholders to invest in and host co-design workshops.

Part 2: Co-design practice

An example of 'abstraction ladder' scenario

Participants are working on 'interactive sketching' based on the results from 'abstraction ladder' activity

The second half of the seminar transitioned into hands-on activities, where we introduced two design techniques:

1. Abstraction Ladder – This technique helps dissect complex problems by alternating between "why" to broaden the issue and "how" to narrow it down, enabling a deeper understanding of the core problem and potential solutions.

2. Interactive Sketching Technique – A collaborative exercise where participants sketch ideas and pass them on for others to build upon. This method fosters creativity and collective problem-solving.

Participants worked in groups of three and were given the freedom to define their own problem statements, using blank sheets, pens, and stickers we provided. These techniques were selected for their adaptability and quick execution, making them suitable for participants from diverse backgrounds.

Reflection: Was it a Success? – And What’s Next?

Preparing for this seminar gave me the chance to revisit the theoretical foundations of co-design and explore how they could be applied within the Korean market. However, the two-hour format proved insufficient to fully dive into the motivations behind human-centered design or to effectively educate participants with varying levels of familiarity with the process.

Since participants came from diverse fields, many found it challenging to define and ask the 'right' questions during the brainstorming activities. Although there was clear enthusiasm for adopting the theory, several participants expressed uncertainty about how to apply these concepts in their own workplaces—especially when it came to persuading their teams and leaders, and implementing the techniques without further practice.

This highlighted a broader limitation in the current design landscape. The shift toward adopting and changing the culture around user-centered design can’t be achieved through a single workshop. It requires a collective effort and wider involvement across the design community to foster a true perspective shift. For me, when I first encountered these research methods, they felt vague and difficult to relate to. Only after experiencing well-executed facilitation by designers and researchers with a keen, analytical mindset did the value become clear.