Designing the In-Between: Outlining the Roles of the Designer in the Civic Arena

This article examines the emerging field of Civic Design, which aims to combine design principles with civic ideals in order to tackle the growing complexity of societal issues. Civic Design suggests a new role for designers in society by emphasising values such as care, sensitivity, empathy, openness, inclusion, diverse perspectives, fairness, justice, the value of experiences, trust and democracy. Civic designers assume numerous roles as connectors, aggregators, network builders, advocates, activists, facilitators, intermediaries and decentralised actors within the civic sphere. The paper examines these stances and analyses them in relation to power as civic designers must navigate intricate power dynamics in order to foster more equitable civic interactions and work towards the common good. In order to do so, civic designers exercise their power in a responsible manner, recognising their own position and actively empowering a diverse range of actors while also considering the influence of more dominant individuals. The paper recounts part of the results of a PhD highlighting the potential of Civic Design to tackle intricate societal issues and promote inclusive, participatory and equitable community results by reframing power relations within commoning infrastructures and procedures.