JANKA CSERNÁK

Janka Csernák is a social designer and researcher at the Social Design HUB of MOME Innovation Center since 2020 and a doctoral candidate of design at MOME. Her track record as a market-based product and concept designer and curator for diverse audiences has informed her work in social design since 2015. Currently, her research focuses on the impact of design tools on disadvantaged women’s communities and adolescent youth. In addition to teaching multidisciplinary social design courses in Zagreb (ALU), Gent (KASK), Tallinn (EKA), workshops during hackathons and summer universities, she is a co-founder of the Social Design Network. Her study Development of disadvantaged female communities through design tools was published in IDK2020, Intersciplinary Doctoral Conference book, 9th Issue (2020). She received the Hungarian Design Award for several projects in 2014 and 2015, and the Fondation Jacques Rougerie Award in 2013. 

ABSTRAKT

SOCIAL DESIGN – LEARNING AND DOING 

The lecture presents a brief overview of social design as a practice through an array of research projects conducted in Hungary with various vulnerable social groups using creative tools.The findings from the research conducted within the Social Design Hub of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) point towards the evidence that certain creative and design-based practices can improve the lives of underprivileged groups. In order to understand how design can contribute to strengthening communities, the barriers of the targeted community are contextualized, and suitable methodological approaches are identified. Key concepts like agency, ownership, mutual knowledge sharing and decision-making are highlighted through case studies. As a key takeaway, the lecture concludes with a critical take on the use of participatory methods among disadvantaged communities, offering a nuanced recommendation on establishing and applying an appropriate and beneficial level of community participation.