Photo Notes
documenting experiences via flickr from my mobile phone.
White boarding
Design Research is Adolescent.
It’s awkward, undefined, pimply and gangly. It has aspirations that it can’t completely define and its résumé consists of only one job. Design research’s parents are barely on speaking terms: aesthetics and science have indeed, had a rocky relationship. Even design research’s extended family are not quite sure what it will grow up to be.
But with all of the family strife and developmental challenges, adolescence comes with one major plus: design research has youthful exuberance and strength in options for the future. Never before in history have so many human-made items and systems been so integral to our society’s everyday operation. And their creation isn’t slowing.
Researching why we design reveals new knowledge to inform if we should design. Researching how we design sheds light on opportunities missed in the design process. Researching deeply for design renders solutions that serve those for whom we design more successfully. And researching what design is doing to us as a society allows designers to evaluate our decisions as we take responsibility for what we produce.
Design research is being shaped and formed by the work of each family member who embraces its awkwardness and helps define its future. And with the work of researchers from around the world from diverse design backgrounds, cultures, passions and charges leading the way, design research has a bright and powerful future. It’s a great time to be part of the family.
What is design research?
It seems there are as many definitions for design research as there are designers and researchers (and design researchers). I believe design research to be the study of human-made items, systems and communities with the purpose of informing their formation and assessing their impact on those whom they serve, rendering knowledge and findings that deepen the understanding of those inside and outside the design community so new ideas are seeded, new participants are involved, new processes are employed and aspirations are more acutely focused.
Why do I research?
Like most designers, my curiosity is insatiable. Migration patterns, the spending habits of urban socialites, bridge construction techniques, tree species and their inherent qualities, stress levels in test-taking 3rd graders: there’s nothing off the table. I am also a meaning maker with a passion for applying design thinking to real-world problems. Research thrives on curiosity and produces meaning that shapes and extends the design process. I research because design and those whom it serves, as well as those whom it has never helped, deserve it.
