NextDoor quartier : teaching young designers social conscience

The NextDoor Quartier project gave the opportunity to students of communication design and product design to experience the societal relevance of their work. They had to dive into the implications of trying to deal with cultural differences knowing that their decisions will have an impact and can't be pulled back. Results from the two groups of 8 students (4 industrial design, 4 communication design), showed the importance of learning by doing as the main driving force for social understanding. By confronting young designers with their own beliefs as a person, they were able to improve their social conscience at the same time that they design for a specific social group. Involving the community in Brussels North proved to be key to develop this project. The active participation of the inhabitants worked as a catalyst to create synergies between content, context and locality that define a specific intercultural context. The results of the project were delivered by means of installations or experiential prototypes. They publicly were displayed in the city of Brussels (Brabantwijk).