Great stuff here. I was recently involved in a co-creation pilot project with a patient community and it was so refreshing and humbling, we learned so much and the project will be so much more meaningful now (if it actually gets funded!)
Thanks for the feedback! That’s really good to hear 👏🏼 It happens so frequently that patients are kept out of the loop, so things happen *to* them rather than *with* or *for* them.
This is such a refreshing lens, Andrea! I love the idea of treating the researcher not just as an analyst but as an “experience architect.” The parallels you draw to game design really highlight how structure and curiosity shape the depth of insight we can uncover.
One additional thought that came to mind: in games, designers also pay close attention to onboarding — those first few moments where a player decides whether the experience feels approachable and worth investing in. Research has the same challenge. If the very first question or activity feels like “paperwork,” participants mentally check out; but if the entry point sparks intrigue or lowers anxiety, the rest of the journey unfolds more openly. Framing those initial steps with care seems just as critical as designing the guardrails or feedback loops that follow.
Great stuff here. I was recently involved in a co-creation pilot project with a patient community and it was so refreshing and humbling, we learned so much and the project will be so much more meaningful now (if it actually gets funded!)
Thanks for the feedback! That’s really good to hear 👏🏼 It happens so frequently that patients are kept out of the loop, so things happen *to* them rather than *with* or *for* them.
This is such a refreshing lens, Andrea! I love the idea of treating the researcher not just as an analyst but as an “experience architect.” The parallels you draw to game design really highlight how structure and curiosity shape the depth of insight we can uncover.
One additional thought that came to mind: in games, designers also pay close attention to onboarding — those first few moments where a player decides whether the experience feels approachable and worth investing in. Research has the same challenge. If the very first question or activity feels like “paperwork,” participants mentally check out; but if the entry point sparks intrigue or lowers anxiety, the rest of the journey unfolds more openly. Framing those initial steps with care seems just as critical as designing the guardrails or feedback loops that follow.
Really appreciated this piece. Thank you!
You’re absolutely right! That would be such a good addition, I almost feel silly for not mentioning it 🤣 I do that daily
not at all. You post is already very interesting! I really enjoyed the analogy you drew there!
The #4. I get asked like how do you like this, all the time, and I like it!
Agreed! Co-creation is genuinely super interesting!
Yes, it is. 100%.