To prepare medical students for a rapidly changing healthcare landscape, where new means of communication emerge, innovative teaching methods are needed. We developed a project-based learning course in which medical students design audiovisual patient information in collaboration with patients and with students in Communication and Information Sciences (CIS). We studied what learning mechanisms are triggered in medical students by elements of a project-based-learning course. In this qualitative study, twelve sixth year medical students that participated in the course were individually interviewed. Data were analyzed according to the principles of qualitative template analysis. We identified four learning mechanisms: Challenging assumptions about patients’ information needs; Becoming aware of the origin of patients’ information needs; Taking a patient’s perspective; Analyzing language to adapt to patients’ needs. These learning mechanisms were activated by making a knowledge clip, collaborating with patients, and collaborating with CIS students. Collaborating with patients helped students to recognize and understand patients’ perspectives. Working on a tangible product in partnership with patients and CIS students, triggered students to apply their understanding in conveying information back to patients. Based on our findings we encourage educators to involve patients as collaborators in authentic assignments for students so they can apply what they learned from taking patients’ perspectives. •We describe a project-based learning course to develop patient information.•Medical students cooperated with a patient and a communication student.•Communication students gave advice on communication and offered a layman perspective.•Collaborating with patients helped students to understand patients’ perspectives.•Cocreating patient information enabled students to apply this understanding.