Design for care-full inclusion: Foregrounding the voices of vulnerable communities through vignettes in co-design

Foregrounding the voices of vulnerable communities in future-oriented co-design workshops is a growing concern in design. Yet, their participation in multi-stakeholder settings may be limited by factors such as power imbalances, cultural differences, low self-efficacy or limited availability. In this paper, we present a case where a care-oriented approach to vignette making and use was adopted to foreground the voices of migrant care workers (MCWs) in a multi-stakeholder co-design workshop. Through this approach, vignettes (1) fostered our critical reflection and affective understanding, (2) supported the articulation of MCWs’ lived experiences, and (3) provided a medium to highlight the interconnectedness and complexity of MCWs’ experiences with technology. We argue that a care-oriented approach to creating narrative tools can help foreground vulnerable communities’ concerns, support participation in workshops, and foster more care-full inclusion.