Designing Trust: the importance of relationships in social contexts

This paper draws on findings from a recent Doctoral inquiry to discuss the importance of eliciting trust in an initial engagement in a social context, how this can be obtained and what this means for Design practice. It suggests that the trust placed in the designer is more important than that placed in the approach, due to the necessity to demonstrate benevolence in order to elicit trust, which can only be perceived in the actions of the designer. It presents a model that demonstrates the links in the relationship between designer and community, and their ability to co-design value.