An Ethnographic Enquiry into Digital Design Tool Making

This paper presents an ethnographic pilot study into the design and application of digital design tools in a leading Shanghai-based architecture and engineering firm. From a participant observer's point of view, we employ qualitative research methods to enquire the conditions and experiences entailed in day-to-day collaborative activities in conjunction with the custom-development of digital design tools in advanced practice. The described initial ethnographic enquiry lasted for six weeks. While previous studies tended to favour post-rationalised and outcome-focused reports into toolmaking for design, we observe through participant observation that daily collaboration in practice is multi-faceted and overwhelmingly more complex. This paper further portrays and reflects on the concomitant opportunities and challenges of participant observation as a research method that can bridge academia and practice. We argue that, in order to appreciate and to inform digital design toolmaking practices, it is essential to recognise the richness of practice, in and of itself.