Principle 9
Embrace the messiness of pluralism
Accept the messiness of co-creation and participatory design.
The more we open up our design process to new stakeholders and perspectives, the harder it becomes to reconcile their differences into a ‘solution’ that benefits the majority. In workshops, experienced designers emphasize the need for resilience when dealing with conflicting viewpoints and tensions. Managing these conflicts is a crucial aspect of design practice, requiring patience, respect, and skill.
A resilient designer understands that achieving perfect stakeholder alignment is more of an aspiration than a practical reality. While it’s important to work towards a shared vision, it’s also essential to understand the underlying reasons and agendas of stakeholders with different viewpoints. This approach moves away from controlling stakeholders and instead embraces the complexity and diversity of genuine co-creation and participatory design.
It’s important to acknowledge that we can’t please everyone equally, and tensions can actually lead to interesting outcomes.
What you can do with this tool in one sentence.