Animal Centered Design for Human Behavior Change
The Challenge
Introduce an animal-centered design approach to animal welfare practitioners in order to influence human behavior toward animals.
The Outcome
A 90-minute interactive session in which the key ideals of an animal-centered design approach are learnt and practiced.
One of the biggest challenges for animal welfare practitioners is influencing people's attitudes about animals, for example, convincing people to care for an animal's rights and well-being in the face of financial restraints. Founded in 2016, Human Behavior Change for Animals aims to create effective positive change for animals whilst considering the human animal. In 2018, they co-hosted the From Principle to Practice workshop event with EASE (Exeter Anthrozoology as Symbiotic Ethics) at the University of Exeter, UK. We were invited to create and lead a workshop to convey the key concepts of animal-centered design to a group of veterinary scientists, animal behavior specialists, animal welfare practitioners, animal management coordinators, and anyone who care about animals.
Through a series of interactive activities, participants were directed in articulating animal user requirements, brainstorming animal centered design solutions, and incorporating them into concrete strategies for human behavior change.
"A terrific engaging and interactive course that made you think about topics from a whole different aspect. Look at things from someone else's perspective, knowing that your barrier may not be someone else's, and vice versa." - Workshop Attendee
