Facilitation by Designers: Their Roles as Translators & Outsiders

Abstract

As the understanding of design matures and broadens, it has become widely accepted that design is not solely about shaping an artefact but facilitating interaction between multiple stakeholders. This has led us to a state where people who do design are not necessarily designers in the traditional sense. Regardless of such transition, this paper argues how the design process of traditional designers also inherently involves aspects of facilitation, by reflecting on a case study of designing a website for a local art community. To address the subjective and social facets that characterise designers’ unique facilitation styles, this paper further presents two perspectives: designers as translators and outsiders.