Abstract

Collaboration has become more important owing to the challenges designers face to compete in fast-paced global markets. Designers need to capitalise on the strengths of different stakeholders to develop shared knowledge and practices to better deal with the complexity of problems facing society today. This study builds on research concerning social processes in design activity through exploring professional designers' perspectives on the significance of collaboration in their work. Twenty-three semi-structured in-context interviews were conducted with professional designers from 13 different professional specialisations. The interview data were analysed using a grounded theory interpretive approach. The insights developed from the analysis suggest that the development of support for collaborative design should target not only methods of solving design problems, but also informal and social interactions that bring together different stakeholders while respecting their differences. Further research in this area would enhance the effectiveness of collaboration and increase designers' ability to participate in the early stages of product development for complex problems.

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