The goal of this study is to explore the meaning of Social Design through design research, investigate appropriate methods for fieldwork study within this context, and seek ways in which design can bring about sustainable community development. In the process of conducting the research, some key elements leading to sustainability were identified that helped to create a “Design Model for Sustainable Community Development.” Through in-depth research of three Social Design case studies and interviews conducted with design experts, key methods were identified, providing insights for designers who might consider working in this emerging sector, while adding to the discourse of Social Design.
This thesis also makes a distinction between “Design for Social Good” and Design for “Social Impact.” It affirms a paradigm shift in design practice towards a more human-centered approach, from designing for people to designing with people. Participatory Design, Exploratory Research and Ethnography are suggested as important methods that provide ways to work in Social Design that can foster ideas to bring about change that can impact societies. There is a new realm of opportunity for designers to work in this emerging social sector. By using their unique skill sets, they can begin to raise the value of design, so often misunderstood by people outside the sector and can be the “change leaders” people want and need today.
","abstract_html":"<p>The goal of this study is to explore the meaning of Social Design through design research, investigate appropriate methods for fieldwork study within this context, and seek ways in which design can bring about sustainable community development. In the process of conducting the research, some key elements leading to sustainability were identified that helped to create a “Design Model for Sustainable Community Development.” Through in-depth research of three Social Design case studies and interviews conducted with design experts, key methods were identified, providing insights for designers who might consider working in this emerging sector, while adding to the discourse of Social Design.</p><p>This thesis also makes a distinction between “Design for Social Good” and Design for “Social Impact.” It affirms a paradigm shift in design practice towards a more human-centered approach, from designing for people to designing with people. Participatory Design, Exploratory Research and Ethnography are suggested as important methods that provide ways to work in Social Design that can foster ideas to bring about change that can impact societies. There is a new realm of opportunity for designers to work in this emerging social sector. By using their unique skill sets, they can begin to raise the value of design, so often misunderstood by people outside the sector and can be the “change leaders” people want and need today.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Reed - DesJardins, Robin"],"institution":"The Ohio State University","degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Industrial, Interior Visual Communication Design","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Nini, Paul","Sanders, Elizabeth B.N.-","Chan, Peter Kwok"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012","date_published":"2012","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:36:08Z","subjects":["Design","Social Design","Field Studies","Sustainable Community Development","Case Studies"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1356646012","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Nini, Paul","Sanders, Elizabeth B.N.-","Chan, Peter Kwok"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Reed - DesJardins, Robin"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2012"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The Ohio State University / OhioLINK"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Industrial, Interior Visual Communication Design"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Ohio State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Design","Social Design","Field Studies","Sustainable Community Development","Case Studies"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1356646012"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The goal of this study is to explore the meaning of Social Design through design research, investigate appropriate methods for fieldwork study within this context, and seek ways in which design can bring about sustainable community development. In the process of conducting the research, some key elements leading to sustainability were identified that helped to create a “Design Model for Sustainable Community Development.” Through in-depth research of three Social Design case studies and interviews conducted with design experts, key methods were identified, providing insights for designers who might consider working in this emerging sector, while adding to the discourse of Social Design.
This thesis also makes a distinction between “Design for Social Good” and Design for “Social Impact.” It affirms a paradigm shift in design practice towards a more human-centered approach, from designing for people to designing with people. Participatory Design, Exploratory Research and Ethnography are suggested as important methods that provide ways to work in Social Design that can foster ideas to bring about change that can impact societies. There is a new realm of opportunity for designers to work in this emerging social sector. By using their unique skill sets, they can begin to raise the value of design, so often misunderstood by people outside the sector and can be the “change leaders” people want and need today.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf","p.193","10.53 MB"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Social Design, Field Studies, Sustainable Development: How Design Research Methods have been Applied to Fieldwork Study and Enable Sustainable Community Development in Three Case Studies"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Nini, Paul","Sanders, Elizabeth B.N.-","Chan, Peter Kwok"],"dc:creator":["Reed - DesJardins, Robin"],"dc:date":["2012"],"dc:description":["The goal of this study is to explore the meaning of Social Design through design research, investigate appropriate methods for fieldwork study within this context, and seek ways in which design can bring about sustainable community development. In the process of conducting the research, some key elements leading to sustainability were identified that helped to create a “Design Model for Sustainable Community Development.” Through in-depth research of three Social Design case studies and interviews conducted with design experts, key methods were identified, providing insights for designers who might consider working in this emerging sector, while adding to the discourse of Social Design.
This thesis also makes a distinction between “Design for Social Good” and Design for “Social Impact.” It affirms a paradigm shift in design practice towards a more human-centered approach, from designing for people to designing with people. Participatory Design, Exploratory Research and Ethnography are suggested as important methods that provide ways to work in Social Design that can foster ideas to bring about change that can impact societies. There is a new realm of opportunity for designers to work in this emerging social sector. By using their unique skill sets, they can begin to raise the value of design, so often misunderstood by people outside the sector and can be the “change leaders” people want and need today.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf","p.193","10.53 MB"],"dc:identifier":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1356646012"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:publisher":["The Ohio State University / OhioLINK"],"dc:rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"dc:subject":["Design","Social Design","Field Studies","Sustainable Community Development","Case Studies"],"dc:title":["Social Design, Field Studies, Sustainable Development: How Design Research Methods have been Applied to Fieldwork Study and Enable Sustainable Community Development in Three Case Studies"],"dc:type":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Industrial, Interior Visual Communication Design"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Ohio State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:36:08Z"}