ABSTRACT
Design anthropology is an emerging transdisciplinary field that offers anthropologists a unique form of knowing, doing, and collaborating on concepts that transform people’s lives. The major relationship between design and anthropology is through the practice of ethnography. From the late 1970s, designers became aware of the value of ethnographic methodologies, to get a better understanding of the needs and experiences of users and the contexts in which products and computer systems were used. Besides instigating positive social change and collaborating with other disciplines, a third difference from traditional anthropology and the central purpose of design anthropology is to give shape to possible futures. The foundational practice of design anthropology is interdisciplinary, interventionist, and future-oriented, so that ethics and accountability are perhaps even more essential to help design anthropologists work collaboratively with others and establish responsible practices that “do no harm” while attempting to “do some good”.
