designswhere

designswhere is a term used in design discourse to describe a practice that foregrounds location, culture, climate, and other context-specific factors in the creation of products, spaces, and services. It emphasizes that a design is not universal but dependent on where it will be used and how users interact with it.

The concept encompasses a range of methods, including field research, ethnography, co-design with local stakeholders, and prototyping in real-world settings. Designers employing designswhere seek to align form, function, materials, and supply chains with local conditions, such as climate, infrastructure, and cultural norms. This approach treats context as a driver of decisions rather than a backdrop to be accounted for after the fact.

Applications span product design, architecture, urban furniture, digital interfaces, and service design. For example, a consumer device might require different thermal management in hot climates, while a service might be adapted to local communication norms and languages. The approach also encourages local sourcing and community involvement to improve relevance and resilience.

Critics note that the term can be vague or overlapping with related concepts like context-aware design and design thinking. Implementing designswhere requires careful scoping to avoid overfitting to a single place or performing token co-design without genuine influence. When done well, it can improve relevance, sustainability, and user satisfaction.

See also: design thinking, context-aware computing, place-based design, user-centered design, design anthropology.