Design games as a tool, a mindset and a structure Kirsikka Vaajakallio

eference and collaboration ground to unite various forms of knowledge is
adaptable to all design representations, from quite rough ones to detailed
prototypes. Providing common ground to various participants is essential
in co-design, since people look at the design task based on their expertise
and experiences about it and on responsibilities and personal concern for
good design, and, therefore, designing requires negotiation between different
understandings (Bucciarelli 1994). Props and other types of design
material can also be considered as boundary objects. According to Bowker
and Star (1999, p 297), ”Boundary objects are those objects that both inhabit
several communities of practice and satisfy the informational requirements
of each of them. Boundary objects are thus both plastic enough to adapt to
local needs and constraints of the several parties employing them, yet robust
enough to maintain a common identity across sites”. Artefacts in terms of
boundary objects can be understood broadly to cover tools, artefacts, techniques,
ideas, stories, and memories (ibid.).
Fig. 18
Different types of visualisations work as reference points, which help in discussing and sharing
knowledge and ideas within a team. In the picture, a researcher and professor work with a floor
plan, play-mobiles and other visual material in the second co-design gathering during the “Codesigning
university” case. (Autumn, 2008)
For instance, Diaz-Kommonen et al. (2009) considered role-playing and
props as boundary objects in collaborative scenario development, which
aimed at describing new user interface concepts and metaphors. They
created a set of various props; some of them – beautiful stones, for example
– were selected mainly because of their aesthetic qualities that could
trigger inspiration and others because of their forms seemed to afford
particular behaviours. The latter category included a piece of elastic rubber
that the researchers thought could represent a measuring instrument.
Based on their experiences, the props with the story created the context
that supported imaginative and creative thinking.
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