The role of designers is shifting within a changing society, designers increasingly have to integrate knowledge, skills and attitude to be able to make societal change happen (Tomico, Winthagen & van Heijst, 2012).

Tomico (2012) describes the application of the third, second and first person perspective, whereas several papers describe the struggle that designers experience of applying the first person perspective (FPP).

This research focuses on the barriers experienced by master students at the department Industrial Design of applying the FPP through semi-structured interviews with 5 participants based on laddering and thematic analysis. Four themes were identified and the findings indicate recommendations for education.

The study proposes recommendations towards education concerning lowering the barriers of using the FPP including creating awareness, supporting the use in complexity, and giving more insights about the practical implications of the FPP to support shifting between these perspectives. 

Tomico, O., Winthagen, V. O., & Van Heist, M. M. G. (2012, October). Designing for, with or within: 1st, 2nd and 3rd person points of view on designing for systems. In Proceedings of the 7th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Making Sense Through Design (pp. 180-188).