Rapid prototyping spiral for creative problem solving in developing countries

In this paper, we focus on how we can assist the local designers in the developing countries to design and manufacture the problem solving products. Although there are a lot of examples of appropriate technology, most of them were designed by the experts who have professional knowledge. To solve this issue, we propose a design method rapid prototyping spiral, considering the conventional studies on creativity support. The rapid prototyping spiral is a quick iterating process of creating prototypes and getting feedbacks from the users. The advantage of this method is that it enables the designers to discover the hidden issues or the unconscious assumptions underlying the users or the community. Our method also takes advantage of the limitation of materials, which has been regarded as a negative aspect so far. We illustrate how our method is applicable to design in the developing countries, taking a project in Ghana as an example. Keywords-Design method; Prototyping; Design space.