ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of design in the development of digital public space, and why it is important going forward. Digital public spaces will result from both incremental and radical design. Working in digital public space means radically reconsidering the notion of interaction design, because it is not simply the interaction between known elements that can be designed and delivered. It is also understanding how emergent qualities will be generated in any system built upon the interaction between people and products, people and places, products and places, people and physical and digital spaces/places and any further combination. Designers working in the traditional silos have predominantly worked alone or in small groups, following an iterative design process to develop concepts and detailed design. This is an internal process that is usually comprised of defining the problem, understanding the problem, thinking about the problem, developing an idea and creating a more detailed design.
