Accounting for (Dis)advantages in Capability Sensitive Design for Marginalized Communities

Marginalized communities often face interconnected barriers that undermine well-being, yet design methods rarely explicitly account for how disadvantages compound or how strengths can reinforce each other. Building on Capability Sensitive Design (CSD), this research extends the framework to address corrosive disadvantages—barriers that undermine multiple capabilities—and fertile functionings—capabilities that positively reinforce others. We applied this extended framework in a participatory study with newcomers to Canada. Using capability hierarchy mapping, co-design workshop, and field study, we identified key capability gaps and their interconnectedness, surfaced community knowledge, and translated values into actionable design requirements. Our findings show that explicitly mapping advantages and disadvantages enables more targeted, contextually grounded interventions. We conclude with methodological guidance for applying this approach to other marginalized contexts in HCI, where designing for equity requires accounting for how capabilities interact.