Project Dignity: Designers of the Future: Dignity in Design

A case study conducted with Birmingham City University

Case Study Authors

Dr Mersha Aftab (Birmingham City University), Dr Karen Lancaster (University of Nottingham)

Context

Digitalisation projects often change the workplace and the work being undertaken. We know no one wants to do work which is undignified, and employers try to take steps to ensure that everyone’s dignity is safeguarded. However, without a people-led approach, poor introduction of digital technologies risks undermining people’s dignity, threatening equality, wellbeing, and even their human rights.

But it is not always easy to begin thinking and talking about dignity in the manufacturing workplace. Sometimes, one doesn’t know how to begin such difficult conversations, and there is the concern that conversations could become heated or personal.  This is where our Dignity at Work Discussion Cards can assist.

The Dignity at Work discussion cards enable businesses to explore issues relating to dignity, equality, wellbeing, and human rights in a fun and engaging way, through fictional scenarios where dignity and technological innovation need to be carefully balanced.

Objective and Approach

At Birmingham City University, the MA Design Management prepares creative leaders who use design thinking and strategy to solve real-world challenges. In the Design Strategy & Innovation module, students apply empathy-led tools like Dignity Cards to address workplace dignity and pitch their ideas in a Dragon’s Den-style challenge, demonstrating innovation, insight, and impact.  The objective of this session was for the students to use the dignity cards and provide their views on how they influenced their design process.

The Dignity Cards, created by Dr Karen Lancaster at the University of Nottingham, were given to the students on the MA Design Management course run by Mersha Aftab at Birmingham City University; students were instructed to apply their design skills and research to understand how the Dignity Cards could be used in new ways.

About the Dignity Cards

The pack consists of 36 Scenario cards, each detailing a dignity-based dilemma, where an employer has introduced a digital/AI technology, but an employee is concerned about a dignity-related matter. For example, a facial recognition system which doesn’t recognise darker skin-tones very well; an AI monitoring system which monitors people’s conversations and activities, but employees feel they are being spied upon; an AI system which has replaced teams, leaving the remaining workers feeling threatened and alone. There are also 20 cards with discussion prompts such as “Suggest one way in which the technology could be used without compromising anyone’s dignity.”

The cards are intended for use in small groups, to foster collaborative discussion and to prepare a business - and its employees - for the potential challenges of implementing digital/ AI technologies, and to ensure that digitalisation can proceed without undermining dignity.

At Birmingham City University, the MA Design Management course equips creative leaders with design thinking and strategic innovation. In the Design Strategy & Innovation module, students tackled a live Dignity in the Workplace brief, applying empathy-led tools like Dignity Cards to uncover hidden workplace challenges and reimagine solutions.

Insights

Using the cards encouraged rich discussion, surfaced perspectives students hadn’t previously considered, and helped them build confidence in framing complex human-centred problems from recognising unheard employee experiences to designing frameworks that enhance culture, inclusion, and dignity. For example, students thought about how experts can sometimes make a job look so easy that outsiders don’t value it; others developed a set of categories, warning of the main ways in which dignity could be threatened at work.

Feedback showed the cards were effective discussion starters, revealing insights that informed stronger prototypes and strategic proposals, while also highlighting opportunities to refine the tool’s design for broader sector use.

The Dragon’s Den–style challenge demonstrated how empathy‑led design drives innovation and prepares graduates to lead change that puts people first.

Impact

“In the Design Strategy & Innovation module, projects like the Dignity in the Workplace challenge develop empathy-led problem-solving, strategic thinking, and innovation skills. Through Dignity Cards, students explored workplace challenges, gained confidence in human-centred design, and learned to advocate for dignity in professional settings. Many will go on to careers in consultancy, management, and strategy, carrying these insights into real-world organisations, paving the way for a more people-led, inclusive, and transformative future.”

Dr Mersha Aftab, Associate Professor, Birmingham City University

“I’ve enjoyed using the Dignity Cards and thinking about how people’s dignity can be affected by AI or technology. I hadn’t really thought about it before.” ~ a student

“It was good to do the project, and think about how to develop the cards further, and to learn how they could be used to help employers think about dignity.” ~ a student

For further information on this case study please contact the P-LD at P-LD@bath.ac.uk

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Innovate UK led Made Smarter Innovation Programme: People-Led Digitalisation Engagement and Impact Acceleration [Grant Reference UKRI1436] Centre for People-Led Digitalisation, at the University of Bath, University of Nottingham, and Loughborough University.