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| (design research map by Elizabeth Sanders) |
I am very interested in how people function and interact with their environments as well as with the "things" in those environments. Therefore, I am also interested in the scientific research that surrounds such issues. That's why I have this random Design Research Friday series on my blog. But this time, instead of sharing the findings of an experimental study, I would like to share a few different things that discuss design research in general:
- Above is a map, created by Elizabeth Sanders, which outlines the current state of design research. Read more about it here (scroll down to page 13).
- Below is a link to Nigan Bayazit's paper about the history of design research:
Reading the paper and studying the map made me realise 2 things:
1. Even though the idea of design research seems obvious to me at this point in time, it wasn't always such a concrete matter historically. In fact, it's a relatively recent topic from a scientific perspective. It's interesting to read how design research developed and why.
2. Because our societies and the way we communicate and do things are constantly changing, there will always be adaptations to consider and new things to discover in design research. I find this exciting because it means that design research will always be important, relevant and forever evolving.
If you are curious about design, I'm sure you will find the paper and the map very interesting, especially together. The give a nice quick impression of where design research came from and where it is now. You will surely find yourself thinking, "... and where will it go?". We can theorise, but only time will tell :)
Feel free to leave your thoughts or open a discussion in the comments below.
Have a great weekend!
Xx. Holly.
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Excellent pst! Very thoughtful and well researched. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, Holly! When I wrote my thesis I dealt with the question how the human cognition perceives and processes visual cues and how these visual cues trigger brand knowledge and recognition. It was pretty tricky but absolutely interesting! Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteYour paper and map are interesting but a little intense..:)
ReplyDeleteI'm really into Design Thinking and its process.
Here's what Wikipedia says:
"Design Thinking refers to the methods and processes for investigating ill-defined problems, acquiring information, analyzing knowledge, and positing solutions in the design and planning fields. As a style of thinking, it is generally considered the ability to combine empathy for the context of a problem, creativity in the generation of insights and solutions, and rationality to analyze and fit solutions to the context. While design thinking has become part of the popular lexicon in contemporary design and engineering practice, as well as business and management, its broader use in describing a particular style of creative thinking-in-action is having an increasing influence on twenty-first century education across disciplines. In this respect, it is similar to systems thinking in naming a particular approach to understanding and solving problems.
Currently, there is a momentum to create awareness about design thinking among designers and other professions by teaching design thinking in higher education. The premise is that by knowing about the process and the methods that designers use to ideate, and by understanding how designers approach problems to try to solve them, individuals and businesses will be better able to connect with and invigorate their ideation processes in order to take innovation to a higher level. The hope is to create a competitive advantage in today’s global economy."
To me, the notion of making it practical, teaching it and hopefully influencing human interactions, awareness levels and having a competitive advantage in the global economy is where it's at.
Research is great but actually 'doing it' is better! We all know that 'DESIGN' can change the world, right.
Great, thought provoking post. xx