Mutual shaping of Agency and Design

DESIGN AND AGENCY RELATIONS:

i.     Agency’s role in design:

a.   How do different agencies involved in technology production phase shape design problem and process?

In technology production phase, there may be designers, potential users and any other human actors and material artefacts participating in this process. An assemblage of humans and artefacts and their various connections or couplings may result in agencies in different forms and degrees. These different forms of agencies may shape the design process and design problem itself.

How much are we aware of the fact that the different configurations of human and artefact assemblages may bring about different forms of agencies?

How much are we aware of the impact of different agencies on definition and transformation of the design problem?

Configuration of Assemblage à Forms of Agency à Design Problem/Process

Super subjective!

Agency from POV of designer1, designer2, participants, or researcher.

b.     How do different conceptions of agency shape design?

Humans involved in production phase might have different conceptions and perceptions of agency. These different conceptions of agency may affect the design decision implicitly or may cause misattribution of agency and hence unintended outcomes.

We design according to whose conception of agency?

How much are we aware of our and others’ conceptions of agencies during design?

c.      How does the extent of consideration of agency shape design?

Some designers may include agency-related qualities in design problem at a great extent, whereas some others may not consider any of them.

While lack of consideration may result in problems related to accountability, responsibility, and ethics, an excess amount of consideration may lead to problems related to over-amplification of differences, unceasing value conflicts, privacy and surveillance.  Moreover, a careful consideration of agency-related qualities may result in responsible and ethical design practices, new more harmonious integrations and couplings between humans eand artefacts and may expand our potential for action.

How much are we aware of benefits and costs of addressing or not addressing agency-related qualities in design problem?

ii.              Design’s role in agency:

a.     How do different design approaches shape agencies involved in production and use of technologies?

Design process can be organized in such a way that it can facilitate formation of some particular configurations (assemblages) of humans and artefacts, while preventing some other ones to be formed.  Design process can invite particular kinds of actions, while inhibiting some others. The artefacts can be designed in such a way that they can privilege values of some actors while ignoring the values of some other ones.

How much are we aware of the impact of design process we follow on formation of agencies involved in technology production and formation of agencies involved in technology use?  

★ p.s. we can also talk about agencies in design time and agencies in use time.

Here is a sketch of roles of design and agency in mutual shaping.