TAGGING SPACE. The fabric tags reference graffiti and electronic icons, and allow

students to mark their school environment and create a dialogue with their space

and other students.

CONCLUSION

The greatest difficulties in any design project originate from the lim-
itations imposed on designers by the user, materials and production
requirements. This project was no exception. Rather than stifle us,
however, these constraints allowed us to grow, as we were required to
exercise more creativity and make smarter choices with fewer resources
and liberties.

In addition to the valuable knowledge gained through the experience,
the Tag Project resulted in:

* an image-based conversation forum that complemented the KGMS
students’ learning style;

+ an additional teaching and feedback tool that the KGMS faculty
could use to initiate discussions;

* adesign aesthetic that pays homage to local fabric roof structures
such as BC Place and Canada Place, the source of the product's
material;

* minimized waste production through the use of reclaimed materials
in both the product and packaging;

* aquick, low cost and efficient manufacturing process that could be
duplicated on a larger scale; and

* absent fixed equipment costs, a standalone classroom kit that could
be produced for less than $10 in labour and new materials.

By employing various participatory design methods early on in the
process, we were able to transform the project constraints into key

features that added value to our design with potentially “positive, long-
range consequences.” [4] We achieved this by according equal if not
greater value to the opinions of our co-creators throughout the design
development process, rather than our own. By allowing the voices of
the KGMS students to direct the project rather than merely inform it,
we were compelled to design directly for their needs rather than our
interpretation of their needs.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank Ellena Lawrence for her contribution and Héléne
Day Fraser for her expertise and support during this project. We would
also like to thank the students and staff of KGMS for their valuable
insights and enthusiasm.

REFERENCES

[1] Forlizzi, J. The product ecology: Understanding social product use and supporting
design culture. international Journal of Design 2 (1). 11-20. [2] Kenneth Gordon Maple-
wood School. Retrieved from: http://www.kgms.ca. [3] Koskinen, I., Zimmerman, J.,
Binder, T., Redstrém, J. and Wensveen, S. Design Research Through Practice: From the
Lab, Field, and Showroom, Morgan Kaufmann, 2011. [4] Sanders, E.B.N. and Stappers,
PJ. Co-creation and the new landscape of design. CoDesign: International Journal of
CoCreation in Design and the Arts 4 (1). 5-18. [5] Sanders, E.B.N. and Westerlund, B.
Experiencing, exploring and experimenting in and with co-design spaces. in Nordin
Design Research Conference 2011: ‘Making Design Matter,’ (NORDES, 2011), 298-302.

CO-CREATION

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