READING ASSIGNMENT # 2 NOTES

INVESTIGATING DESIGN: A REVIEW OF FORTY YEARS OF DESIGN RESEARCH

Nigan Bayazit

The paper begins with the question “What is Design Research” and a quote by L. Bruce Archer: “design research is systematic inquiry whose goal is to knowledge of or embodiment of configuration, composition, structure, purpose, value and meaning in man made things and systems”. The objectives of design research are the study, research and investigation of artificial things made by humans. Research is focused on making a contribution to the common knowledge. It explains the importance of the past and how design methods emerged into our design field. This road of research methods can be traced all the way to the 1920s with the Bauhaus and carried by its members such as Gropius and Moholy-Nagy. The term “design science” was introduced, this which would seek efficiency through minimal use of energy and materials. This shift towards research as means of producing and inventing was adopted from the military research efforts during the world wars.

During the 60’s it became evident to designers that they must shift from hardware and form to the consideration of human needs. Here the Nigan introduces design methods developed and he breaks them into two generations.

First Generation Design Methods

The influence of systems analysis and systems theory on design established the grounds for the development of systematic design methods. A new scientific approach to design method was delivered; Design Science. This called for implementation of scientific approaches to artificial disciplines (developed by humans). Research became common in Europe and The U.S, people were looking at rational methods of incorporating scientific techniques and knowledge into the design process to make rational decisions. Design was to be scientific and the designer had to start by analyzing human behavior to derive qualities, quantities and relationships. Many conferences took place showing the interest of designers to adopt these scientific research methods.

The second-generation design methods defined design problems as “wicked” and finding appropriate solutions for such would create new problems to be solved. This new generation allowed newcomers to find new ways for themselves and find methods that would meet the realistic requirements of the real world. User involvement began to compensate for the inadequacies brought by the previous generation of research methods. The success of such research depended on the designers’ awareness of the user values and therefore he must now seek collaboration with social scientist and anthropologist to carry out adequate design research. Many of the research studies were done under the fields of architecture and engineering due to Europe’s need for reconstructions. When the 90’s came around, design researchers and design methodologist were working in the field of computer-aided design and developing their methods in relation to architectural and engineering design problems. Significant growth in all areas of design took place during the nineties due to new professional demands on design research.

THE PROBLEM: THE HEART OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS.

The problem or question is the axis round which the whole research effort revolves. The heart of every research project is the problem. These problems are everywhere, research is related to the ever expanding and exploding universe of knowledge. Research projects are for the upheaval of basic knowledge about different phenomena. Research projects can be divided into two; basic research which focuses on bettering the theoretical conceptualizations of a particular topic, while applied research informs human decision making about practical problems. The dividing line for these two concepts is a very blurry one. Research projects take a lot of time and energy therefore it is important that one is passionate about the subject being studied. The goal is to make a difference and advance frontiers of knowledge through research, collection of data and the interpretation of this data. Research projects are not for achieving self-enlightenment, compare two sets of data to determine a relationships between these data, or problems that can be answered with a yes or a no are not considered appropriate research projects. These do not fit the condition of benefiting humanity of knowledge for the better good.

To identify possible problems of research one must first look around since problems are everywhere and then inform yourself about this topic. Information is widely available and it sheds insight on what has been done or what needs to be done in that field. The article suggest attending professional conferences in order to build contacts and to ask professionals for a better insight of what is needed to be done. Ultimately one must be passionate about the topic being researched as well as have it be interesting and worthy of attention of the greater masses.

Through the design process one must keep asking the question of what am I doing, where am I going. To help this, researchers must first state the problem in clear manner in full sentences that could be understood by everyone. Also areas of study must be limited to a manageable size. If a researcher cannot clearly express his problem, people might question his/her abilities to collect and interpret data. Researchers are encouraged to edit their work in order to clarify their righting and improves your thinking.

METHOD DESIGNING: THE PARADOX OF MODERN DESIGN EDUCTATION

Jessica Helfand begins talking about the revolution in theatre by introducing a new theory of training for actors where they would draw from their own emotions in order to understand and portray better the characters. She used to be an actress and now in the field of graphic design she uses this analogy to describe the paradox of modern design education. Students are encouraged to engage the audience in the same manner, but they have been allowed to appropriate some part of this method acting, which glorifies feeling and celebrates vanity; the part that amplifies personal memory and replays it as objective truth and are misplaced as graphic design. Students frame the interpretation of visual form and come to believe that the every interpretation its itself the form.