Horses, elephants and camels… : challenges and barriers to interdisciplinary user-centred design research

User-centred research methodologies are often adopted to inform design practice. This paper proposes a case for the key role of design practice, and the value of artefacts, as a fundamental methodological approach to user-centred research. Three design case studies highlight the value of interdisciplinary collaborations and the challenges and limitations of more tradtional user-centred research methods. The paper helps define the role of design as research, and the key role of artefacts as tools to access tacit knowledge and as tools to aid communication in the context of research.