Mastering Design Co‑Creation: A Five‑Step Methodology with Real‑World Case Study

What – What Is Design Co‑Creation

Design co‑creation is a collaborative, participatory design approach that dates back to early human culture, such as the Chinese Shijing and Greek epics, and later large cultural works like the Yongle Encyclopedia . It involves multiple stakeholders jointly shaping a product.

There is no single definition, but a common description is: “Co‑design is a design‑led process that uses creative and participatory methods. There is no one‑size‑fits‑all approach. Instead, there are patterns and principles that can be applied in different ways with different people. Importantly, co‑designers make decisions, not just suggestions.” (Burkett, 2012).

The author’s interpretation is: “Invite core roles to participate in key design processes, reach consensus on problems and goals, understand design thinking and make joint decisions, agree on evaluation criteria, and share design outcomes.”

Why – Why Use Design Co‑Creation

Design co‑creation delivers three major values:

Breaks ability boundaries: By involving other core roles, each participant’s strengths are leveraged, overcoming individual limitations.

Enriches perspective dimensions: Multiple viewpoints produce more complete solutions and reduce risk.

Expands value breadth: Jointly defined evaluation criteria broaden project value beyond pure design, gaining broader stakeholder recognition.

Projects with high design cost and high design value—such as complex redesigns, 0‑to‑1 exploratory projects, or multi‑stakeholder decision‑heavy initiatives—are ideal for co‑creation.

How – How to Conduct Design Co‑Creation

Case Study: Baidu Guarantee Experience Optimization

The Baidu Guarantee project serves Baidu users’ rights protection, involving complex business logic and unclear requirements, making it a high‑cost, high‑value candidate for co‑creation.

Step 1: Business Understanding

1. Project background research – the initial request was a vague statement that the guarantee site’s experience was poor.

2. Understanding business value – the team mapped the three core flows (Guarantee site, Apply guarantee, Policy management) and aligned with product on business logic.

Step 2: Consensus on Goals

Through multi‑role discussions, the core goal was defined as “Redesign the site from both B‑side and C‑side perspectives to strengthen guarantee awareness and improve understandability.”

Step 3: Design Co‑Creation

• Design direction brainstorming – preparation of agenda, pre‑reading, and clear facilitation.

• Brainstorm execution – participants turned off devices, recorded ideas on tags, discussed, and organized on a whiteboard to reach consensus.

• Detailed solution co‑creation – multiple framework proposals were created, tested with key roles, and the “strengthen C, weaken B” option was selected.

Key refinements included simplifying hierarchy, merging bottom bars for better screen efficiency, enriching content modules (9 for C‑users, 4 for B‑merchants), focusing on core user needs, and adding real data to build trust.

Step 4: Metric Decomposition

Using the HEART+GSM model, qualitative and quantitative metrics were defined. For example, retention was measured by active users and day‑1/3/7 retention rates.

Step 5: Implementation and Validation

After launch, user data showed clear improvements in both qualitative feedback and quantitative metrics.

Design co‑creation is a cyclical process: initial business understanding leads to co‑creation, which deepens understanding and starts a new cycle, continuously enhancing product experience.

Regular project retrospectives reinforce the value of co‑creation, increase designer influence, and foster win‑win outcomes across teams.