DRS2026 : Design Research Society 2026 Edinburgh
Dates: 8 – 12 June 2026
Location: University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Author:
Khemmiga Teerapong – Bangkok University
Boonanan Natakun – Thammasat University
Abstract:
This paper advances a decolonised understanding of care within design research by examining how relational and culturally grounded practices shape engagements with older adults in Thailand’s rapidly aging society. Drawing on the Monday Museum creative ageing initiative in Bangkok’s Khlong Bang Luang neighbourhood, the study critiques Western-centric framings of care that privilege clinical, individualised, or outcome-driven approaches. Fieldwork and co-design activities with elderly residents reveal that care emerges as a relational practice embedded in local cultural norms, expressed through attentiveness, reciprocity, and shared responsibility. The paper introduces “Familiness” as a Thai, culturally situated framework that embodies warmth, flexibility, and family-like connection, enabling trust-building and adaptive collaboration between designer researchers and participants. By foregrounding familiness as both ethical stance and methodological practice, the study contributes to decolonising design research and offers an alternative lens for understanding care in community-based, creative ageing contexts.
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