Co-Evolving Towards Evil Design Outcomes: Mapping Problem and Solution Process Moves

Abstract

Creative outcomes require designers to continuously frame the problem space and generate solutions, resulting in the co-evolution of problem and solution. Little work has addressed the value dimensions of design activity with regard to this co-evolutionary process and the role of the designer in acting upon specific and value-laden framings and/or solutions. In this paper, we identify how triads of student designers from user experience (UX) and industrial engineering (IE) disciplines frame the problem space and generate solutions, foregrounding the ethical character of their judgments in response to an ethically-nuanced design task. Using sequence analysis to analyze the lab protocol data, we describe the frequency and interconnectedness of process moves that lead the design team towards unethical outcomes. Based on our findings, we call for additional attention to ethical dimensions of problem-solution co-evolution, and identify key interaction patterns among designers that lead towards unethical outcomes.