While many designers in Singapore employ participatory approaches, they often hold multiple professional identities and navigate negotiations with stakeholders from diverse cultural backgrounds. Understanding how these creatives exercise competence based on their identities helps illuminate key factors that support community-building in Singapore’s multicultural society. However, limited research exists from participatory and design perspectives on how cultural competence emerges. This qualitative study explores the cultural competence practised by participatory designers in Singapore, focusing on how their identity constructs inform their awareness and ability to navigate ambiguous self-perceptions and evolving public expectations. Data were gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews and observational studies with 15 designers working on social issues among marginalised communities. Analysed through the lens of identity and cultural competence theory, the findings reveal several key aspects of what I term participatory cultural competence. First, designers value maintaining a neutral position to facilitate dialogue across differences. Second, they identify as ‘makers’ who engage in sense-making through tactile and sensory learning. Third, they acknowledge their privileged position and responsibility in stewarding localised knowledge from communities. These insights suggest that awareness of one's complex identity enhances care for diversity and fosters a designer mindset that embraces uncertainty and iterative learning. To support this, key figures in education and the creative industries should trust designers as autonomous professionals with cultural competence—equipping them to navigate diversity and contribute meaningfully to holistic social change.

Authors:
Cheng Chen, National University of Singapore, Singapore

About the Presenter(s)
Cheng is a 3rd year Singaporean Ph.D. candidate in Cultural Studies at NUS, focusing on cultural studies, participatory design, and community-building. He also teaches Design Thinking at the College of Design and Engineering, NUS

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheng-chen-99a4a0b6/

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