In this study, we argue that users participating in the design process will form the participation as a function of their professional role, but also as a function of their identity more or less independent from their role. In order to get the full potential of cooperative design the user identity in general and in this case their attitudes towards technology in particular should be incorporated into the design process. This case study consists of participatory design sessions with two different organizations, in the context of a media production tool development project. Facilitator skills, and workshop interventions to balance attitudes and to take them into account in design are discussed. Furthermore, we argue that attitudes will affect a subsequent implementation of a technical system, and that knowledge about stakeholder identity can be useful for further design activities and for planning system implementation. r 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.