Kysten er klar is my diploma project at The Oslo school of architecture and design, done together with Eila Rishovd. The project examined:
BRIEF "How can design strengthen the culture of equality and diversity in the Norwegian fisheries."
TIMELINE 6 months
ROLE Eila and I shared all design tasks and worked as full-stack designers. My primary responsibility focused on strategic and holistic concept and prototype development to ensure systemic change aligned with SDGs, particularly number 5, Gender equality.
Award The finished project got AHO AWARDS nominations in the categories; "Sustainability" and "Strategic use of design." The project won the category "Complexity and holistic thinking."
Background Female fishers have for several years raised their voices to tell about their experiences related to discrimination - they ask for a change in the fishing industry. The diploma explores how to facilitate more equality and diversity in the Norwegian coastal fishing fleet through a co-creation design approach. The project brief was defined by investigating the Fishing industry, interviewing stakeholders, and mapping the challenges initially reported.
Process Due to relevance, the project got funding from Fiskeri- og Næringsdepartementet so that we could have an explorative design process. Our approach had a particular focus on co-creation with marginalized users, contextual field study, and a strategic approach led by feminist principles. We worked closely with stakeholders by spending four weeks in the field (Lofoten).
Insights Before defining a service that promotes equality, we had to understand what elements in the existing culture make a culture of inequality happen. By analyzing findings from interviews and observations, we defined beliefs that are essential to have uncovered. The beliefs making it challenging to achieve equality in the fishing industry are the following:
Existing beliefs in the fishing industry
To exemplify how the beliefs might be played out in various situations, especially from the perspective of a person that is underrepresented, we created user stories and scenarios typical for the fishing profession.
Stories from the industry
With involvement by the organisations "Hun fisker" and "Norges Kystfiskarlag", we defined beliefs that can challenge the existing ones while support under-represented groups.
New beliefs for the fishing industry
When the new beliefs were defined, we designed a service that can nudge users to practise a culture of equality trough practical facilitation. The final service proposal of the project is “Kollektivet”. A platform that helps fishers overcome barriers when entering unfamiliar fishing villages.
Fishers traveling along the coast can use the platform to connect easily and get support from their environment. A rising tide lifts all boats - Kollektivet bridges people and resources and benefits everyone in the fisheries.
By practically facilitating and integrating newcomers in the fishing industry, we strive to shape new beliefs that result in equal outcomes. Over time, these outcomes will contribute to building a culture of equality. The experience of entry is important, as it sets the conditions for one’s position in a community. Kollektivet is constantly striving for equitable outcomes by enabling fishers to feel more connected and support from their environment. a continuous evaluation of a community’s well-being and diversity. The users will have the agency to take part in culture change and generate the communities they need.
This diploma project reflects the value of designers going into an unfamiliar field to work with culture and people. We hope the project communicates the importance of prioritizing marginalized perspectives when designing services and understands that it can create value for many.