Hello Meg, Sue, Liz,
Sue invoked the terms “analyzer”(researcher) and “creator”(designer) which seems analogous to the activities of description and prescription, which may be more familiar within research circles.
Indeed many researchers (myself included) would claim to be creative, as they are involved in the process of designing a research project. (Here again might be Meg’s question as to what is creativity.) Similarly most designers I know would claim that they too analyze and are involved in some sort of research–even at the level of investigating competitive products/attributes & related technologies or observation of a less scientific nature.
While there are elements of overlap, it seems as if the roles that researchers and designers play in the product development process are distinct.
What has always intrigued me is the formula that E-Lab (now Sapient) employed in having both designer and researcher conduct research together. It seems understandable that what the designer might observe would be different that the focus of a researcher.
Perhaps Meg, (former project manager at E-Lab and research director at Sapient) could provide some insight into designer as researcher.
Bruce