Mapping interdisciplinary design research as a flow around a medidisciplinary sea

Daniel Fallman's Interaction Design Research Triangle is interesting for mapping the flow between different modes of enquiry within design. How might interactions with other disciplines also be represented? This chapter proposes a complementary tool, by focussing on the flow across the edges of the triangle, rather than within. A case study involved augmented communication for people without speech. In the Six Speaking Chairs, design played a role in visualising 'tone of voice', an elusive quality usually locked away in the esoteric language of phoneticians and other experts, opening this up to a diverse audience. Mapping the circulation of knowledge and ideas around the Interaction Design Research Triangle brings to mind the Mediterranean trade-routes of the Phoenicians - an ancient civilisation defined by trade, rather than territory. Positioning design in the middle of other disciplines, embodies a unique role for design research.