Chantelle Baistow

Email: c.baistow@unsw.edu.au

Supervisors: Katherine Moline, Zoe Veness

I am a UNSW PhD candidate with a background in interactive design and community leadership on the Central Coast, NSW. My research aims to engage industry and community in socially engaged design through critical digital craft. My experience in the NSW Greens Party informs this approach. I have facilitated workshops and events that have resulted in greater participation in the local discourse on matters of concern. When working on these events, I am involved in experimental approaches to garner improved participation from attendees. At the same time, I have continued to test my methodological approach to socially engaged design with critical digital craft workshops at the Country Women’s Association and after completing my Master of Design (honours) at Waverly Library as part of the Powerhouse’s Sydney Design. During the challenges of face-to-face workshops in the past two years, I have conducted testing of potential online strategies.

My work as a co-design research assistant to Associate Professor Katherine Moline includes workshops conducted at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre in 2020, the UNSW National Facility for Human-Robot Interaction Research in 2021 and Uncle Tobys, Nestle, VIC in 2021. These workshops are an ongoing part of Moline's research into the wicked problem of women and aging. My co-design experience exploring wicked problems combined with an often-complex combination of environmental issues and community engagement within the Greens political party has led to my questioning how designers can approach energy transition in communities affected by the shift away from coal-fired power production.

Past workshops found that co-designing digital craft was productive for all participants developing an understanding of environmental stewardship while exploring matters of hyper-consumerism and waste. Currently, I am working towards expanding the methodology further to broaden stakeholder involvement and to incorporate polluting materials in artefacts produced through critical digital craft.