Delivering real-world socially responsive design.
At the core of the Design Against Crime Research Lab's activity is research that serves the public and communities. The Lab's focus is “socially responsive design and innovation”: its primary driver is social issues, its main consideration is social impact, and its main objective is social change. Overall, the team's approach embraces action research, user-centred and participatory design methods, as well as diverse ethnographic approaches.
The Lab delivers design against crime responses that are recognised as impactful benchmarks. These address everything from personal security and theft to youth violence, public safety and social wellbeing.
For an overview of the Lab’s work over the last 20 years, read this case study.
To understand more about DAC's approach, view this visual representation of the Lab's methodology.
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DAC's design work is delivered without compromising the look and functionality of objects or service provision. The team use engagement processes that are connected to strong partnerships through an “open innovation” approach, as well as a rigorous design and crime methodology. Ultimately, they believe that their designs should involve communities in the design process, be user-friendly and abuser-unfriendly, and also serve communities, as well as business, commercial and public service providers and policymakers.
The team have created numerous design platforms to do this and to enable collaboration between communities, UAL courses and students on projects that address diverse social challenges.
Addresses crime prevention issues surrounding personal security, theft, youth violence, public safety and social wellbeing.
Connects design education, local government and communities to generate solutions to address social challenges.
Working with communities, artists and project partners to transform local spaces into welcoming, inclusive and creative areas to assist in the reduction of crime.
The core mission of DACRL is to disrupt crime by bringing together government, businesses, local communities, prisoners and citizens to generate strong socially responsive, co-created crime prevention strategies and crime diversion projects. The Lab aims to use socially responsive design to
Ultimately, the team acknowledges that the causes of crime are complex and that, to be useful, design responses will usually need to address multiple drivers, often including those beyond crime incidents.
Reflecting this, the Research Lab operates across a variety of platforms in encouraging communities, design students and PhD researchers to address these issues. This often happens via the Public Collaboration Lab and the diverse projects it has generated.
Students from BA Product Design worked under the guidance of academics from the Design Against Crime Research Centre to improve prison cell furniture
How four BA Product Design students created a game to repair the disconnection between prison inmates and their children
Makeright is a ground-breaking design course for prison inmates, run by The Design Against Crime Research Centre at Central Saint Martins. The project is devised to break the cycle of […]
“Design unlike art, doesn’t allow you to design just for yourself. You’re designing for another, it requires communication and empathy.” Lorraine Gamman, Director of Design Against Crime Design Against Crime […]
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Central Saint Martins University of the Arts London 1 Granary Square LondonN1C 4AA
designagainstcrime@csm.arts.ac.uk