Gaining insight into unfamiliar contexts: A design toolbox as input for using role-play techniques

This paper presents a design toolbox developed for Philips Design in commission of Philips Medical Systems that provides insight into the healthcare context of rural India. Creating products for this context requires an understanding of the needs of the people within it. This paper discusses ‘contextual design’ through the combination of different descriptive and experiential tools, used to introduce designers into a context they are not familiar with. The toolbox has been evaluated using different performance techniques with design students. The use of role-play techniques has proven increasing relevance in many aspects: increasing the understanding and experience of participants about the context, creating an embodied and common understanding of the ideas being developed and communicating the concepts in their context.