What is co-design?
Co-design is a participatory approach where community members, end users and stakeholders work as equal partners to shape communications, services or systems from concept to delivery. It helps make translation and localisation projects culturally relevant.
Detailed description
Co-design is a participatory approach where end-users, stakeholders, and community members are involved as equal partners in the design process: not just providing feedback on completed work, but actively shaping the design of communications, services, or systems from concept through to execution.
In the context of multicultural communications and translation, co-design ensures that the final output reflects the perspectives, preferences, and lived experiences of the communities it is intended to serve. This might involve community members helping to design the structure of a health information resource, selecting imagery for a campaign, determining the most appropriate communication channels, or shaping the tone and register of translated content.
Co-design is distinct from co-creation in emphasis though the terms are closely related. Co-creation tends to focus on content development (what we say), while co-design focuses on the broader system and experience design (how we communicate, through what channels, in what format, with what visual and structural choices).
Effective co-design requires genuine power-sharing. Community participants need real influence over outcomes, not just a seat at the table where decisions have already been made. This requires skilled facilitation, cultural safety, and organisational willingness to adapt based on community input.
LEXIGO's co-design approach brings community insights into every aspect of multicultural communication projects, from strategic planning and channel selection through to content creation and visual design, ensuring the entire communication experience is culturally informed.
Why it matters
Communication projects designed without the input of their intended audience frequently miss the mark: using the wrong channels, the wrong tone, or assumptions about what matters to communities that do not reflect reality. Co-design reduces this risk by centering the perspectives of the people you are trying to reach.
For organisations investing in multicultural communications, co-design improves both the effectiveness of the communication and the relationship with the community, building trust and credibility that extends beyond any single campaign.
Related questions about co-design
What does co-design mean?
Co-design means designing a service, product or message with the people who will use it, as equal partners, rather than designing it for them and asking for feedback at the end.
How is co-design used with culturally diverse communities?
Community members help shape the problem, the message, the language and the channel, often through in-language workshops, so the final communication reflects how the community actually thinks and talks.
Who should be involved in co-design?
The people affected by the outcome, community leaders or organisations who can reach them, the staff who will deliver the service, and decision-makers who can act on what is learned.
What is the difference between co-design and consultation?
Consultation asks people for their views on something already drafted. Co-design involves them from the start, sharing decisions about what is created.
What is the difference between co-design and co-creation?
The terms overlap. Co-design usually refers to shaping a service, system or strategy, while co-creation often refers to producing the content or campaign itself with the community.
How do you co-design translated information?
Test the English source with community members, agree on key terms, have translators and community reviewers check the translation, and test the final version with the intended audience before release.