Current participatory design practices can limit how and when to engage with marginalised or disadvantaged voices. We will explore and challenge: Is it really us who should design the future, and how do we decide whose voice is heard and what value it is given?

The next evolution of designing with care must extend to addressing how we engage beyond the mainstream. We can’t create inclusive participation without talking about power.  As design practitioners, we must be aware of our relationship to power – conscious and unconscious – to shift the inherent imbalance when working with people experiencing disadvantage or outside the ‘mainstream’.

This talk will appeal to designers who are interested in learning more about approaching customer engagement with sensitivity and elevating participant voices, and to government and corporates who are at the start of their participatory design journey.