Design Thinking as a Method of Social Innovation

In 2018, the project Community Space took place in Lebanon and Germany as part of the research focus “Foreign and Foreignness“ at the Berlin School of Design and Communication. Through the process of designing a community space for a refugee camp in Lebanon, the project investigated the topic area of foreignness. Students from Berlin and Beirut from artistically oriented fields of study used Design Thinking to explore how social spaces can be designed in situations of crisis.

The research question was: How can the space in a refugee camp be designed in such a way, that it has an activating effect, so that foreignness can be processed and that creative and positive impulses arise among the residents and are transformed into action? The complex Design Thinking process, viewed from the students and a scientific perspective, as well as the concept for the design of the „Community Space“ for the refugee camp are presented in this publication.

The photographs and illustrations included in the book were created by students. The texts were created by teachers and professors from the cooperating universities Berlin School of Design and Communication of SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences and ALBA Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts of the Université de Balamand.

Prof. Gilbert Beronneau, Prof. Julia Leihener and Prof. Katrin Androschin are responsible for the management of the university cooperation. Prof. Beronneau is also the editor and author of the artefakte publication series.

A print version with thread binding, four-color offset printing (artefakte 02, 1st edition 2020; 128 p.; ISBN 978-3-942648-25-7) can be purchased by contacting Prof. Beronneau directly ([email protected]).