Mariana Salgado | Value of a designer in designing for participation | #50

Mariana discusses her work in participatory design, focusing on immigration policies and public services in Finland. She shares how designers can improve public policy creation, support inclusive dialogues, and turn data into practical outcomes.

👉 If you have any tips on fantastic speakers from across the globe, feedback, or any questions, we’d love to hear from you too. Reach out to geekspodcast@uxtweak.com

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/mariana-salgado-designing-for-participation/

Episode highlights

• 00:02:30 – Mariana’s move to Finland
• 00:05:11 – Using participatory design in Helsinki’s urban development
• 00:10:45 – Designers’ role in shaping public policies
• 00:20:28 – Participatory design in public services

About our guest Mariana Salgado

Mariana Salgado is a senior designer and researcher specializing in service and interaction design with a focus on participatory methods. She produces and hosts Diseño y Diáspora, a podcast on design for social change in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, with 570 episodes and 6,000 monthly listeners, making it the most popular design podcast in Latin America. Currently, Mariana works as a service designer at ICOS ERIC, contributing to the EU project IRISCC.

Her career includes leading Inland Design, a Finnish innovation lab for immigration services, and collaborating on cultural heritage, global health, and participatory projects with diverse communities. Mariana has also worked as a researcher, lecturer, and co-founder of a design studio.

🔎 Where to follow Mariana

LinkedIn / Podcast

👉 Did you know that UXtweak also offers a series of webinars packed with practical knowledge for UX professionals? Check out the episode with Kevin Liang, where he talks about driving strategy in reactive environments.

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter