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Report: NESTORE Co-design methods for ageing well

"In a tangible world, objects have cultural meaning" said Prof. Paul Chamberlain in introduction to the September workshop on the NESTORE co-design methods. Organised in the frame of the Open Living Lab Days 2019, the NESTORE Co-Design workshop invited participants to interact with objects to explore the wealth of discussions that it can bring.

Thinking through things is very useful to break down language and disciplinary barriers. Objects also give rich abstract conversations which allow researchers to avoid bias that often pre-determine the questions to be asked. 

"Conversations that are emerging when people talk to an object, through an object, are much deeper; it gives people security; it brings emotions into the discussion". concluded Paul Chamberlain about the findings of the NESTORE Co-Design workshops

In the NESTORE Co-Design workshop, participants to the Open Living Lab Days were asked to discuss what is important in their lives. If the first round of open discussions led to fairly general answers ('I like spending time with family and friends'), a second round of discussions prompted by the objects randomly picked from the 'Exhibition-in-a-box' led to much more sophisticated and intimate responses. 
 

How does that help us to design technology?

For the sake of the project, the researchers of Lab4Living run a series of co-design workshop asking older participants about their main interests and their relation to technology, each time prompted by objects from 'Exhibition-in-a-box'. The team of researchers then translated the findings of the workshops thanks to pathway cards for technologists to take on board what are people's fears and preferences. 

If the 'Exhibition-in-a-box' was used in NESTORE to co-design technology with older adults, it could very well also apply to works with other age groups, as it was the case at the Open Living Lab Days. Objects enabled in-depth group discussions, and thus invited participants to go beyond their own preconceptions both about technologies... and older adults.
 

Read about the NESTORE Co-Design methods
Discover our workshop in pictures
Discover the recap of OLLD2019