Understanding the Needs of Nonhuman Stakeholders in Design Process: An Overview of and Reflection on Methods

TL;DR

This paper reviews methods in More-Than-Human design, emphasizing the need for tools to better understand nonhuman stakeholders like plants and microbes, to promote sustainable and inclusive design practices.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of existing methods in MTH design, highlighting gaps and proposing directions for developing tools to include nonhuman perspectives.

Findings

Focus on animals and objects over plants and microbes

Scarcity of synthesis methods for nonhuman perspectives

Need for tools representing nonhuman relationships in ecosystems

Abstract

Design practice traditionally focused on human concerns, either overseeing the various effects of climate issues on nonhuman stakeholders or considering them as resources to address these problems. The climate crisis's urgency demands a design shift towards sustainability and inclusivity. This shift was happening through an emerging theme in design, More-Than-Human (MTH), which expands the notion of the user to animals, things, nature, and microbes. Such an expansion creates a requirement for designers to consider nonhuman perspectives during the design process. This paper investigates the methods used in MTH Design studies to explore and synthesize the perspectives of nonhuman users. Reviewing 30 papers, it highlights a predominant focus on animals and things over plants and microbes in MTH studies, along with a scarcity of synthesis methods. It identifies the necessity of tools that represent nonhumans with their relationships within larger ecosystems, and calls for increased attention to plants and microbes, emphasizing their vital role in sustainable environments and urging researchers to develop methods for understanding these species. By highlighting method strengths and weaknesses, it aims to guide designers and design researchers who plan to work with nonhuman users in selecting appropriate methods.