Just became aware of this discussion taking place on the PhD list.
Phew, there’s a bit of ‘ego’ competition going on…!

Anyway, here are some topics this discussion is circling around…
• Concerns that these fictional characters are confused with ‘real’ users
• How does persona contribute to a good design outcome, and issues of how you can prove/demonstrate this.
• Critique of personas used as ‘client buy-in’.
• Personas as a design tool to either eliminate / highlight political agendas during decision making processes

Ok, so here are my thoughts…
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What are you researching and with what end in mind?
The focus of the research is to explore the role of designer and the participatory interactions that take place within design processes that leads to designed outcomes that actively engage participation by the audience. In this context, I intend to examine a potential participatory framework for the practice of communication design that enhance interactions amongst/between various stakeholders, including designers, clients and audiences. In particular, I intend to explore methods, tools and concepts that can trigger active participation within the design process. I envisage that these methods, tools and concepts can facilitate communication between various stakeholders, thus enhancing the overall communication design outcome and engage an active participation of the audience.
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Concerns with interviews: to be clear about what you’re looking for otherwise I might be overwhelmed by the rich data generated by the interviews. Cameron pointed to the aspects which are emerging out of the interviews as thus;

• Playful Triggers act as social lubricant and facilitate communication that helps the interviews.
• What they communicate is the power dynamics and work flow
• How power dynamics and workflow impact on outcome.
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