This special issue emerged from our own situated experiences as design researchers and practitioners navigating the methodological and ethical uncertainties of fieldwork disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As co-editors, we felt an urgent need to reconsider long-standing assumptions within codesign, particularly its reliance on face-to-face engagement as a foundation for building trust, empathy, and collaboration. Historically, codesign has drawn heavily from ethnographic and participatory traditions (Ehn Citation2008), focusing on in-situ interactions that allow for first-person observation and immersion in participants’ lived realities (Mattelmäki Citation2008; Mattelmäki, Vaajakallio, and Koskinen Citation2014). Yet, the rapid transition to remote modes of interaction during the pandemic revealed new opportunities and challenges for design research. What initially appeared as constraints, through the process unfolded into opportunities to critically reimagine how codesign research could evolve when shaped by remote data collection methods (RDCM). Our own fieldwork immersed in socially embedded and often technologically constrained contexts raised urgent questions about trust-building, empathy, participation, and representation in digital spaces. We recognised the growing need to document, critique, and share the emerging methodologies, tools, and ethics of conducting codesign research remotely, especially with communities for whom face-to-face interaction had been seen as a prerequisite. This special issue seeks to examine these emergent practices critically, contributing to the evolving methodological possibilities within design research. This special issue comprises two editions; this is the first edition.

ABSTRACT This work presents a model to support the process of learning experience design (LXD) for educational technology. The model was developed and applied in the design of a self-reflection tool for 21st-century skills in maker education. Grounded in LXD, it integrates procedural and methodological perspectives from codesign and user experience (UX) design, by mapping three codesign dimensions - Staging, Negotiation, and Reframing – onto four UX phases - Analyse, Design, Prototype, and Evaluate. Enacted through an agile process involving 29 designers across four European countries, the model structured the collaborative activity across phases, dimensions, roles and objects. It offered the necessary clarity and practical scaffolding required in navigating complex, multistakeholder, multicultural and multidisciplinary initiatives. Key findings highlight process transparency, particularly between the preparatory and reflective dimensions that precede and follow the main design negotiations, designer role fluidity, inclusive participation, and the evolving role of design objects. The work offers a structured and transferrable approach to EdTech design at the intersection of LXD, UX, and codesign.

ABSTRACT This article explores children’s preferences for playground features within different playground types (traditional, contemporary, and adventurous). It also explores their designs for digital interactive playgrounds facilitated through a co-design workshop. Findings highlight children’s desire for diverse playground features, including physical challenge, social interaction, cooperative play, diverse play experiences, adventure, and risk. The study also identifies potential affordances of interactive playgrounds envisioned by children and employs the COM-B model (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour) to systematically understand their links to children’s capabilities, opportunities, and motivations for outdoor play. By including features that provide cognitive, physical, sensory, and functional affordances, designers can develop digital interactive playgrounds that stimulate children’s outdoor play behaviour.

ABSTRACT The relationship between collaborative design (CD) and design for sustainability (DfS) is an emerging focus in design literature, driven by the urgency of the environmental crisis. Historically perceived as driving consumption, designers are increasingly recognised as critical actors in sustainability initiatives. Based on a scoping review, this study investigates the connections and relationships between CD and DfS with the aim of understanding the interrelations between these two themes. Adopting a tailored scoping strategy, the authors developed a dataset of publications from design journals indexed in Scopus and extracted relevant excerpts (i.e. rich quotes). The rich quotes were analysed thanks to activity theory and statement card analysis, resulting in the Collaborative Design for Sustainability framework. Based on the activity system, this framework provides a structured approach for practitioners to integrate diverse perspectives, emphasising the importance of systemic thinking in collaborative sustainability efforts. The paper also highlights limitations in existing literature, particularly around methods for operationalising collaboration, and calls for further research to apply the proposed framework in practical and educational contexts to enhance collaborative practices for sustainability.

ABSTRACT Policy has increasingly been recognised as a significant area for design collaboration. Given that design is inherently future-oriented, its role extends beyond solutions and feedback: design processes can nurture community members’ autonomy, deliver their perspectives to the policymakers, and inspire shared visions. In that aspect, policy design naturally aligns with co-design, with their shared aims for fostering inclusive participation. This paper examines the intersection of co-design and policymaking by integrating futuring into co-design, focusing on a critical societal challenge: preparing for the future of ageing societies. The ageing population is increasing rapidly and there is a pressing need to bridge design and policy to enable social support. We argue that a co-design approach is crucial in recognising seniors as autonomous stakeholders in shaping their own future and futuring approach can magnify co-design’s contribution to policymaking. In this project, we combined futuring and co-design to explore four potential future scenarios and policies with 22 South Korean seniors, caregivers, and policymaker. This research contributes to the field by highlighting the effectiveness of co-design and futuring in promoting senior citizens’ participation in policy design process and underscoring the role that design can play in policymaking.

ABSTRACT The Make Some Noise: Hidden Stories of Black Creatives in Canada was a co-design research study with Black creatives across Canada representing diverse disciplines of design, visual and performing arts. Participants self-identified as emerging, mid-career, or established in their practice. The study mapped the ecosystem across Canada of barriers and facilitators influencing Black creatives’ career progression. Sixty-eight Black creatives participated in 10 virtual co-design research consultations. Two speculative co-design sessions were held with 22 participants to inform the design of a resource tool to support their creative practice, strengthen their creativity and overcome reported barriers. Participants co-designed the characteristics, form, and key functions of the tool and speculated on how the tool would be accessed and used, now and in the future. Key themes that emerged from the stories they shared of their lived experience of institutional anti-Black racism were: (1) protective factors and empowerment, (2) creating opportunities for ourselves, (3) overcoming institutional barriers, (4) finding creative solutions: opportunities, successes, economic sustainability, and (5) resources needs. This study contributes to the discourse on design’s role in fostering positive societal change when participants with lived experience are recognised as subject matter experts and empowered to be agents of change.

ABSTRACT Participatory Design (PD) and co-design have seen growing adoption in digital cultural heritage (CH) projects, yet there is limited orderly understanding of how these approaches are implemented across diverse contexts. This paper presents a systematic review of forty publications (2014–2024) focusing on the ‘making’ phase , and the PD organisation framework. We examine participant compositions, methods, tools, techniques, and digital outputs, mapping trends across museum environments, intangible cultural practices, archival documentation, and immersive technologies (AR/VR). Our analysis reveals a recurring tension between advanced technological solutions and the need for authentic, community-driven design, highlighting a need to ensure culturally grounded CH experiences. We also find that co-design, in which participants shape concepts throughout the design process with co-creative tools, remains uncommon, with many projects following more generic PD approaches that predominantly involve users during earlier or later evaluation stages. Nevertheless, the review showcases a growing inclusivity in heritage initiatives, addressing immigrant groups and accessibility concerns. A key contribution is an extended taxonomy encompassing participant roles, heritage fields, and digital experience types, offering a structured lens for practitioners and researchers to consider for future co-creative CH projects.

ABSTRACT Public participation in urban projects is not a new concept; future workshops have been conducted for over 30 years. However, in vulnerable communities, social and economic barriers create an imbalance of power between decision-makers and the communities they work for. To enhance the impact of future workshop results, this study aims to explore the potential of extended reality (XR) technologies as a tool for raising awareness among public stakeholders, fostering a deeper understanding of the findings and their implications. To achieve this objective, we conducted a series of workshops with children from an informal settlement in the city of Fortaleza, in the state of Ceará, Brazil. Capturing the imaginative visions of the children and presenting them to decision-makers. The participants using the virtual reality glasses demonstrated acceptance of the technology, integrating it at various stages of the urban design process. As an empirical outcome of this experiment, we successfully presented the children’s work to decision-makers across different states and even incorporated their visions into an ongoing urban project for the informal settlement. Furthermore, we developed a methodology for creating this experience, which we hope will be valuable to other researchers and urban planners.

ABSTRACT Landmark policies such as the National Agreement on Closing the Gap urge governments to adopt genuine partnership and shared decision-making with First Nations peoples. Our study examines how policymakers and First Nations peoples co-designed the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan (NATSIHP) 2021–2031. We use realist evaluation to understand Context-Mechanism-Outcome (CMO) configurations. We collected data through yarning, interviews, and document analysis, focusing on how co-design mechanisms operated within specific contexts to produce observed outcomes. The context encompassed key policy actors, a tenuous First Nations health policy landscape, and non-negotiables like First Nations-led decision-making and content addressing cultural safety and systemic racism. Mechanisms included a culturally safe environment and shared decision-making. The outcomes showed a positive experience among participants in co-designing a national First Nations health policy, though there was disappointment in its implementation and accountability, underscoring the need for stronger follow-through. We highlight the imperative for governments to foster culturally safe environments for collaborative and inclusive policy design. Policymakers must empower First Nations peoples to create policy content that addresses systemic issues like racism. While co-designing policy with First Nations yields benefits, adherence to implementation and accountability measures is critical to avoid wasted efforts.