How cultural knowledge shapes core design thinking—a situation specific analysis

Abstract

The growing trend of co-creation and co-design in cross-cultural design teams presents challenges for the design thinking process. We integrate two frameworks, one on reasoning patterns in design thinking, the other on the dynamic constructivist theory of culture, to propose a situation specific framework for the empirical analysis of design thinking in cross-cultural teams. We illustrate the framework with a qualitative analysis of 16 episodes of design related conversations, which are part of a design case study. The results show that cultural knowledge, either as shared by the cross-cultural team or group specific knowledge of some team members, shape the reasoning patterns in the design thinking process across all the 16 episodes. Most of the design discussions were approached by the designers as problem situations that were formulated in a backward direction, where the value to create was known first. Then the designers were using available cultural knowledge to articulate the unknown what to design (products/services) and how the design would work (the working principles of product/services). In conclusion, we demonstrate a novel approach for understanding how cultural knowledge shapes core design thinking in specific situations.

Investigating prototyping approaches of Ghanaian novice designers

“…Prior work supports the notion that design decision making is a culturally situated practice (Bucciarelli 1988; Tse et al. 1988; Heaton 1998; Clemmensen, Ranjan & Bødker 2017). For example, in one study, the cultural perceptions and norms of the designers in a multicultural design team influenced how the team represented the problem as well as their development of the solution requirements for an automotive accessory package (Daly et al.…”

“…However, a designer from a low-or middle-income country may employ different approaches than a designer from a high-income country and may interpret the context for which they are designing in different ways, and this may impact their design practices. Prior work supports the notion that design decision making is a culturally situated practice (Bucciarelli 1988;Tse et al 1988;Heaton 1998;Clemmensen, Ranjan & Bødker 2017). For example, in one study, the cultural perceptions and norms of the designers in a multicultural design team influenced how the team represented the problem as well as their development of the solution requirements for an automotive accessory package (Daly et al 2017).…”

“…2017). Clemmensen and colleagues (2017) found that the design thinking processes of participants were influenced by their cultural knowledge that was either shared across the team or specific to one group.…”

Understanding customers across national cultures: the influence of national cultural differences on designers’ empathic accuracy

“…Lachner et al (2015) believe that considering cultural differences in design helps designers to 'create [a] culturally targeted, hence better product' (p.68). Moreover, Clemmensen, Ranjan, and Bødker (2018) find that culture-related knowledge shapes the reasoning patterns of design thinking. These elements tell us that cultural differences have an impact on design.…”

“…Many factors constitute this horizon, such as cultural background, educational level, social environment, empathic motivation, and perspective taking. Clemmensen, Ranjan, and Bødker (2018) argue that 'culture shapes design thinking', while to frame design questions in a 'culturally underspecified context', designers need to make their knowledge more accessible in cross-cultural design (129). Moreover, a significant difference in designers' empathic accuracy between understanding mobile payment users from the same and different national cultures has been found (Li and Hölttä-Otto 2020).…”