Design research
Encyclopedia
Design research investigates the process of design
ing in all its many fields. It is thus related to Design methods
in general or for particular disciplines. A primary interpretation of design research is that it is concerned with undertaking research into the design process. Secondary interpretations would refer to undertaking research within the process of design. The overall intention is to better understand and to improve the design process.
at Imperial College London, in 1962. It led to the founding of the Design Research Society (DRS) in 1966. John Christopher Jones (who initiated the 1962 conference) founded a postgraduate Design Research Laboratory at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, and L. Bruce Archer
founded the postgraduate Department of Design Research at the Royal College of Art
, London, becoming the first Professor of Design Research.
The Design Research Society has always stated its aim as: ‘to promote the study of and research into the process of design
ing in all its many fields’. Its purpose therefore is to act as a form of learned society, taking a scholarly and domain independent view of the process of designing.
Some of the origins of design methods and design research lay in the emergence after the 2nd World War of operational research
methods and management decision-making techniques, the development of creativity techniques in the 1950s, and the beginnings of computer programs for problem solving in the 1960s. A statement by Bruce Archer encapsulated what was going on: ‘The most fundamental challenge to conventional ideas on design has been the growing advocacy of systematic methods of problem solving, borrowed from computer techniques and management theory, for the assessment of design problems and the development of design solutions.’ Herbert Simon
established the foundations for ‘a science of design’, which would be ‘a body of intellectually tough, analytic, partly formalizable, partly empirical, teachable doctrine about the design process.’
and industrial design
, but research in engineering design developed strongly in the 1980s; for example, through ICED—the series of International Conferences on Engineering Design. These developments were especially strong in Germany and Japan. In the USA there were also some important developments in design theory and methodology, including the publications of the Design Methods Group and the series of conferences of the Environmental Design Research Association
. The National Science Foundation
initiative on design theory and methods led to substantial growth in engineering design research in the late-1980s. A particularly significant development was the emergence of the first journals of design research. DRS initiated Design Studies in 1979, Design Issues
appeared in 1984, and Research in Engineering Design in 1989.
promoted the new view within his book The Reflective Practitioner, in which he challenged the technical rationality of Simon and sought to establish ‘an epistemology of practice implicit in the artistic, intuitive processes which [design and other] practitioners bring to situations of uncertainty, instability, uniqueness and value conflict’.
It might be said that design research ‘came of age’ in the 1980s, since when we have seen a continuing period of expansion. More new journals have appeared, such as The Design Journal, the Journal of Design Research, and CoDesign. There has also been a major growth in conferences, with not only a continuing series by DRS, but also series such as Design Thinking, Doctoral Education in Design, Design Computing and Cognition, Design and Emotion, the European Academy, the Asian Design Conferences, etc. Design research now operates on an international scale, acknowledged in the cooperation of DRS with the Asian design research societies in the founding in 2005 of the International Association of Societies of Design Research.
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
ing in all its many fields. It is thus related to Design methods
Design methods
Design Methods is a broad area that focuses on:* Divergence – Exploring possibilities and constraints of inherited situations by applying critical thinking through qualitative and quantitative research methods to create new understanding toward better design solutions* Transformation – Redefining...
in general or for particular disciplines. A primary interpretation of design research is that it is concerned with undertaking research into the design process. Secondary interpretations would refer to undertaking research within the process of design. The overall intention is to better understand and to improve the design process.
Origins
Design Research emerged as a recognisable field of study in the 1960s, initially marked by a conference on Design methodsDesign methods
Design Methods is a broad area that focuses on:* Divergence – Exploring possibilities and constraints of inherited situations by applying critical thinking through qualitative and quantitative research methods to create new understanding toward better design solutions* Transformation – Redefining...
at Imperial College London, in 1962. It led to the founding of the Design Research Society (DRS) in 1966. John Christopher Jones (who initiated the 1962 conference) founded a postgraduate Design Research Laboratory at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, and L. Bruce Archer
L. Bruce Archer
Leonard Bruce Archer CBE , British mechanical engineer and later Professor of Design Research at the Royal College of Art who championed research in design, and helped to establish design as an academic discipline.-Early life:...
founded the postgraduate Department of Design Research at the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
, London, becoming the first Professor of Design Research.
The Design Research Society has always stated its aim as: ‘to promote the study of and research into the process of design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
ing in all its many fields’. Its purpose therefore is to act as a form of learned society, taking a scholarly and domain independent view of the process of designing.
Some of the origins of design methods and design research lay in the emergence after the 2nd World War of operational research
Operations research
Operations research is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations...
methods and management decision-making techniques, the development of creativity techniques in the 1950s, and the beginnings of computer programs for problem solving in the 1960s. A statement by Bruce Archer encapsulated what was going on: ‘The most fundamental challenge to conventional ideas on design has been the growing advocacy of systematic methods of problem solving, borrowed from computer techniques and management theory, for the assessment of design problems and the development of design solutions.’ Herbert Simon
Herbert Simon
Herbert Alexander Simon was an American political scientist, economist, sociologist, and psychologist, and professor—most notably at Carnegie Mellon University—whose research ranged across the fields of cognitive psychology, cognitive science, computer science, public administration, economics,...
established the foundations for ‘a science of design’, which would be ‘a body of intellectually tough, analytic, partly formalizable, partly empirical, teachable doctrine about the design process.’
Early work
Early work was mainly within the domains of architectureArchitecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
and industrial design
Industrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
, but research in engineering design developed strongly in the 1980s; for example, through ICED—the series of International Conferences on Engineering Design. These developments were especially strong in Germany and Japan. In the USA there were also some important developments in design theory and methodology, including the publications of the Design Methods Group and the series of conferences of the Environmental Design Research Association
Environmental Design Research Association
The Environmental Design Research Association is an international, interdisciplinary organization founded in 1968 by design professionals, social scientists, students, educators, and facility managers...
. The National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
initiative on design theory and methods led to substantial growth in engineering design research in the late-1980s. A particularly significant development was the emergence of the first journals of design research. DRS initiated Design Studies in 1979, Design Issues
Design Issues
Design Issues is the first peer-reviewed academic journal to examine design history, theory, and criticism. The journal typically include theoretical and critical articles, book reviews, and illustrations. Design Issues was established in 1984 and is published online and in hard copy by the MIT...
appeared in 1984, and Research in Engineering Design in 1989.
Development
The development of design research has led to the establishment of design as a coherent discipline of study in its own right, based on the view that design has its own things to know and its own ways of knowing them. Bruce Archer again encapsulated the view in stating his new belief that ‘there exists a designerly way of thinking and communicating that is both different from scientific and scholarly ways of thinking and communicating, and as powerful as scientific and scholarly methods of enquiry when applied to its own kinds of problems’. This view was developed further in a series of papers by Nigel Cross, collected as a book on 'Designerly Ways of Knowing'. Significantly, Donald SchönDonald Schön
Donald Alan Schön was an influential thinker in developing the theory and practice of reflective professional learning in the twentieth century.- Education and career :...
promoted the new view within his book The Reflective Practitioner, in which he challenged the technical rationality of Simon and sought to establish ‘an epistemology of practice implicit in the artistic, intuitive processes which [design and other] practitioners bring to situations of uncertainty, instability, uniqueness and value conflict’.
It might be said that design research ‘came of age’ in the 1980s, since when we have seen a continuing period of expansion. More new journals have appeared, such as The Design Journal, the Journal of Design Research, and CoDesign. There has also been a major growth in conferences, with not only a continuing series by DRS, but also series such as Design Thinking, Doctoral Education in Design, Design Computing and Cognition, Design and Emotion, the European Academy, the Asian Design Conferences, etc. Design research now operates on an international scale, acknowledged in the cooperation of DRS with the Asian design research societies in the founding in 2005 of the International Association of Societies of Design Research.
Further reading
- Cross, N (ed.) (1984) Developments in Design Methodology, Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
- Höger, H (ed.) (2008) Design Research: Strategy Setting to Face the Future, Milan, I: Abitare Segesta.
- Krippendorff, K (2006) The Semantic TurnThe Semantic TurnThe semantic turn refers to a paradigm shift in the design of artifacts – industrial, graphic, informational, architectural, and social – from an emphasis on how artifacts ought to function to what they mean to those affected by them – semantics being a concern for meaning...
, Boca Raton, FA: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. - Laurel, B. (2003) Design Research: Methods and Perspectives, Cambridge: M.I.T. Press.