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This chapter examines the ways in which the field of Participatory Design engages with the field of design–as both a topic, a research field and a practice. We highlight what we consider are core themes in design, especially as they relate to Participatory Design concerns. The chapter is not intended as a review of the whole design field, nor is it a comprehensive overview of work being done by the Participatory Design community. Rather, our purpose is to mine both traditions for insights into the relation between design topics more generally and ongoing practices in the Participatory Design field.

Our aim, from the title of the chapter, is to address the question of whether, and in what way, design actually matters for the Participatory Design community. The intent is to show how Participatory Design work is inextricably bound up in more general design debates, even if the topic of design per se is not always a front-line …