First experiences in the virtual space

During the initial VR onboarding session, students from Inholland and QUT met in small international teams for an interactive introduction. They used immersive VR technology—a virtual environment that, through VR headsets, makes users feel truly present and together in a shared digital space. In the second session, they worked on learning assignments from the Creative Business program in The Hague, using two key methods:

• The Co-Design Canvas, developed by Wina Smeenk, Professor of Societal Impact Design at Inholland.
• Playing personas, a method that helps bring target audiences to life through role-play, as described in the Co-Design book by Jeremy Kerr, Associate Professor of Visual Communication at QUT's School of Design.

Australian students used avatars and the playing personas method to reflect on various concepts developed by Inholland students. This enabled them to provide constructive, embodied feedback to improve the concepts and prototypes. Simultaneously, the research explores how co-design in VR can foster empathy and connection through immersive and embodied experiences.

Jeremy Kerr: “We are exploring how co-design can take place in new ways using the latest technology. Rather than relying solely on Zoom, Teams, and virtual whiteboards to collaborate across borders, we’re looking at embodied co-design in specially designed virtual spaces. This is a whole new way to experience creative collaboration.”

How dit the project begin?

The project emerged from a partnership between Inholland, QUT, and the EdTech-team, enabled by a VIS grant awarded after a successful pilot in July 2024. The project has since been further developed and is now being tested in practice with students.

For many students, this is their first time collaborating in a VR environment. They gain firsthand experience of working in virtual teams, developing cross-cultural communication skills, digital literacy, and in-depth knowledge of co-design methods.

Project leader Claudia Mayer, lecturer Creative Business and researcher at Societal Impact Design within the ARC Research Center, emphasizes: “This immersive form of co-design offers students a unique learning experience. They develop not only technical and content-specific skills but also learn to collaborate with people from around the world.”

Next Steps

Now that the VR sessions are complete, a feedback session was held to exchange experiences and perspectives. The group will also co-author an article about this innovative approach to education and collaboration. Early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Wina Smeenk, Professor of Societal Impact Design, concludes: “Through this research, we’re gaining valuable insights into how VR experiences can support cross-border co-design. We saw that students truly felt like they were working together. In their gestures, we observed early signs of empathy—for example, when an Australian avatar of a 12-year-old girl was comforted with a gentle pat on the head by a Dutch student. We’re also learning more about integrating VR technology into education and research.”

Press here for Dutch

Claudia Mayer, researcher at the Societal Impact Design research group, has published her first paper ‘Teaching the Co-Design Canvas in Living Labs’. It is published in the DRS Digital Library as part of the 7th International Conference for Design Education Researchers, Learn X Design 2023.

Central to this study is the Co-Design Canvas, introduced as a pivotal tool for fostering open dialogue among diverse stakeholders. 

This stimulates collaboration through effective teamwork and empathic formation. The paper concludes by presenting a, for now, final workshop format consisting of assignments that supports introducing the Canvas and thereby codesign to societal impact design novices. This program better prepares students and coaches for multistakeholder challenges within living labs.

If you would like to read more on this topic, Wina Smeenk has also published a paper on the co-design canvas. It is called “Bridging the research-practice gap: understanding the knowledge exchange between design research and social design practices.”

Wina Smeenk, Professor of Societal Impact Design, has published her new book The Co-design Canvas. The Co-Design Canvas is a proven, practical and user-friendly tool to start openly and transparently, plan, execute and evaluate collaborations around societal challenges with different stakeholders. Understanding and addressing these challenges is difficult because no single stakeholder or organization is solely responsible. Everything is interconnected and constantly changing, resulting in challenges being neglected and stakeholders being unable or unwilling to make important decisions.

“Co-design is inherently collaborative. To achieve societal impact, all stakeholders are needed. Only when all different perspectives are represented can you achieve meaningful design opportunities," says Wina Smeenk. "If we want ideas from socially engaged residents to take effect, it can only be done through good collaboration with other stakeholders.”

The Co-Design Canvas is a tool for governments, citizens, businesses, nonprofit organizations, knowledge institutions and other stakeholders to communicate and collaborate transparently. It clarifies and discusses differences in interests, knowledge, experience and power relations, dwells on desired positive impact and concrete results from the beginning, and ensures that everyone’s voice is truly heard.

The Canvas consists of eight cards about co-design decisions that can be placed together. "Together with the stakeholders you navigate through the cards flexibly”, Wina explains. "You can take different routes through the Canvas. Sometimes you have to backtrack. It's revisiting decisions and thinking ahead." But crucial above all is that everyone has a say, Wina believes. "If people can really bring in their interests and feel that their interests are served by the portfolio of collaborative projects, then you see people put their shoulders to it and give it all their enthusiasm. Then something beautiful is created."

The Co-Design Canvas is available through BIS publishers.

Book presentation

On Tuesday, October 10, the festive presentation of the book The Co-Design Canvas will take place at Pakhuis de Zwijger. You are cordially invited to attend.

WITH CONTRIBUTIONS OF
Agnes Willenborg, Claudia Mayer and Koen van Turnhout

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Date: 10 October 2023
Time: 19:00h - 21:30h
Location: Pakhuis de Zwijger, Piet Heinkade 179, Amsterdam

REGISTER
Tickets for this event are available free of charge through Pakhuis de Zwijger: https://dezwijger.nl/programma/the-co-design-canvas