Design for Diversity and Inclusion
Design for Diversity and Inclusion refers to the design of products, services, and social systems that contribute to the realization of an inclusive society, and in particular the design of “mechanisms” that enable people to make their relationships with each other diverse and inclusive. Diversity and inclusion (or “social inclusion”) is a term widely used around the world, but Design for Diversity & Inclusion was conceptualized when the Design Initiative for Diversity & Inclusion, affiliated with the Faculty of Design, Kyushu University, was founded.
In the 1970s, the idea of “normalization,” which aimed to enable people with disabilities to live in society together with other people (without differentiating between people with and without disabilities), was popularized before “social inclusion.” However, some of the support provided under this concept ignored minorities’ unique lifestyles and diverse cultures. For example, Bengt Nirje’s “normalization principle” included helping people with disabilities to live according to the “normal” rhythm of time and the “normal” sexual relations in their culture.
This is the context in which the concept of “social inclusion” emerged. Social inclusion is a concept that seeks to build a society that includes, rather than excludes, those who are socially vulnerable. This concept has emerged in Europe in the 1990s as a counterpart to “social exclusion.” The idea is not that people with disabilities (differences from the majority) should be made to fit general (normal) standards, but to build a society that accepts people with differences and respects their differences. Since then, the concept has spread to include not only people with disabilities, but also various other socially excluded and isolated people, such as the poor, immigrants, the elderly, the LGBT, people with illnesses, and disaster victims (the target group is perceived slightly differently in different countries). In Japan, the term “social inclusion” was taken up and popularized by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2000 (in the MHLW document). The Agency for Cultural Affairs then used the term in the 2011 Basic Policy on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts (Third Phase), and measures were put in place to address the issue. The background to these measures was numerous reports from Europe, the US, and Japan of the empowerment of previously excluded minorities through arts activities (allowing them to gain confidence and demonstrate their abilities), where relationships between diverse groups of people had been deepened by performing arts activities together.
The approach to social inclusion that has spread in this way in the arts and culture is called “design for diversity and inclusion,” which aims to rethink and develop design from the perspective of the design of “mechanisms.” This is exemplified by two projects underway at the Design Initiative for Diversity & Inclusion of the Faculty of Design, Kyushu University.
The first is “Design for communicating to people with diverse color vision characteristics.” Design for people with diverse color vision characteristics, conventionally known as color deficiency, has taken a compensatory approach based on the assumption of “normal color vision.” This may be a color environment improvement for use by a diverse range of people. However, the design process continues to reflect the way in which the criteria for color vision grow out of “normal color vision” and continue to reflect an idea of “normal.” This project proposes a way of designing and rethinking the design process based on the diversity of color vision characteristics.
The second is “Communication design for dementia care through co-creative arts activities.” In conventional medical and nursing care settings, it has been observed that the emphasis is on a “normal” sense of time, and treatment and support are provided in an attempt to correct this disorder and bring the quality of life (QOL) closer to “normal.” However, this project does not focus on cognitive decline, but emphasizes the person’s emotions, which are still vibrant, as strengths. Specifically, the project involves creative arts activities such as music and theater, where the “right thing to do is not set in stone,” involving a variety of people like artists and “support persons.” This co-creation can be an initiative to transform the fixed relation between the “supporting person” and the “supported person” so as to empower persons with dementia.
Prior concepts similar to design for diversity and inclusion include universal design and inclusive design, but each approach is different. Design for Diversity & Inclusion explores ways of design that bring about a “restructuring of relationships” and “transformation of values,” and focuses on designing “mechanisms” that enable people to make their relationships with each other diverse and inclusive. The design of “mechanisms” here refers mainly to the following three things: (i) the design of “systems” that combine multiple matters/things, (ii) the design of “processes” for creating new designs, and (iii) design that transforms the mechanisms “behind” issues.
Currently, the Design Initiative for Diversity & Inclusion is systematizing knowledge on this issue while actually designing various products, services, and social systems.
(Mia Nakamura and Takuma Koga)
Related Class
KIKAN Education Courses for the Senior Year Students Social Inclusion A/B
References
- 社会包摂デザイン・イニシアティブ（https://www.didi.design.kyushu-u.ac.jp）
- 西智弘編著（2020）『社会的処方 孤立という病を地域のつながりで治す方法』学芸出版社
- 深澤友紀（2020）「障害があっても『公園で遊ぶ』をあきらめない！東京都の『誰もが遊べる場』作り」AERA.dot（2020年1月26日付）
- 文化庁×九州大学共同研究チーム編（2021）『文化事業の評価ハンドブック 新たな価値を社会にひらく』水曜社
- Nirje, Bengt (1992), The Normalization Principle Papers, Centre for Handicap Research, Uppsala University, 1992（ベンクト・ニィリエ（1998）『ノーマライゼーションの原理 普遍化と社会変革を求めて』河東田博他訳、現代書館）