The Work of Democratized Design in Setting-up a Hosted Citizen-Designer Community

Sampsa Hyysalo, Virve Hyysalo, Louna Hakkarainen

The types of work going into participatory and community forms of design is an emerging research area that complements participatory design’s earlier emphasis on the ideals and principles of democratic design. This article documents a year-long process wherein a hosted citizen-designer community was initiated to contribute to the design of a large public space its services: Helsinki Central Library Oodi. We examine the types of work designers in the host organization engaged in to accomplish the set-up and initiation of the hosted citizen-designer community. In so doing we examine how views of design democracy and practical considerations permeate each other in the realization of the hosted community.