Design in socio-technical perspective: An actor-Network theory reflection on community project 'Kampung Kreatif' in Bandung

Abstract

Background Concern with the social dimension emerges when design is seen as an interactive process beyond activities to result in products. Actually, design is socio-technical process: designers use and result technical objects when they interact with others. The term 'socio-technical' is derived from Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to describe the mutual relations between human and technical objects. This study was conducted to understand design in a socio-technical perspective by reflecting a design work of 'creative alley' in Kampung Kreatif as project case. Methods This paper is written using the ANT as theoretical based for design reflection to extract knowledge from project case, by tracing the designers activities in society and following actors' relationship in each project stages. Results This paper delivers three arguments: first, collectively design process can be described by unravelling actors and technical objects relationship, focusing how human actors create 'scripts' as a set of ideas, texts, procedures, and technical objects; second: ANT support to account the construction of place by accounting technical objects installed as delegation of human actors; and third, design is a kind of 'pre-scription' activities: everybody acts as designers collectively when she/he imagining results and developing values before creating 'scripts', where the professional designers roles are determined by design devices. Conclusions ANT is capable of providing a framework for unraveling the complexity of design practice and place-making. Further, it is possible to exercise ANT to support participation and to transform design into socio-technical change by clarifying matters of concern.