Terms and meanings of participation in product design: From user involvement to co-design

Abstract

[EN] Design thinking with the users, is a new way to understand and create new products and services. This new conception of design is leading to new larger ideas and more complex methods in order to improve this process. The new participatory methods, generates new design concepts and also, different experiences in the project. Since the development of technologies and social media the power of collaboration has become a way of thinking, which is changing the landscape of design. Participation of users and customers in the development of products and services started to be an important issue in Design Management literature in the last years. This paper presents the evolution of the terms related to participation, their use and interrelations. We consider that they are relevant nowadays, for the interpretation and communication of the user¿s role in the design as developers of relevant innovations in products and processes.