Connecting practice to research (and back to practice): making the leap from design practice to design research

This paper explores two questions: what skills and knowledge can be derived from research and brought back into design practice; and how can we better prepare designers to undertake research? Its aim was to enable design practitioners wishing to pursue research to understand the process and anticipate the scope and level of work. Additionally, it addressed the questions of how design education can incorporate a research-based curriculum and how professional bodies can promote the value of research to practitioners? A complementary paper was co-written and presented at the CONNECTED 07 conference, Sydney. It explores the process of undertaking a PhD within the framework of the UK design education system by examining it from a design and business perspective (Yee, J.S.R, Michlewski, K. and Bohemia, E. (2007) 'Interrogating the Academic Research Process in UK Design Education from Design and Business Perspectives', ConnectED 2007 – International Conference on Design Education, Sydney, (http://www.designdictator.com/publications/connected07.pdf). Yee’s research bridges the gap between contemporary design practice, the growth of professional knowledge and pedagogy, via empirical study and theoretical discourse. Yee is currently 2nd supervisor for a PhD, entitled; ‘The Development of a Framework to Understand Potential Relationships Between Services and Their Users’ and is contributing to the development of the Professional Practice Doctorate in Design in the CfDR

Learning design – making practice explicit

New technologies have immense potential for learning, but the sheer variety possible also creates challenges for learners in terms of navigating through an increasingly complex digital landscape and for teachers in terms of how to design and support learning interventions. How can learners and teachers make informed decisions about what technologies to use in the design and support of learning activities? This presentation will consider this question and present a new methodology for design – 'learning design', which aims to shift the creation and support of learning from what has traditionally been an implicit, belief-based practice to one that is explicit and design based. Learning design research at the Open University, UK has included the development of a set of conceptual design views, a tool for visualising designs (CompendiumLD) and a social networking site, for sharing and discussing learning and teaching ideas and designs (Cloudworks). An overview of this work will be provided, along with a discussion of the perceived benefits of this new approach to educational design

Are we there yet? Insights to support the use of reflective practice methods for explorative practice-led doctoral research into real-world design problems

This paper concerns the use of design thinking in practice-led doctoral design research. It examines methodological appropriateness for research through design. Much practice-led design research begins with the aim of improving knowledge and understanding for design practitioners involved in real-world problem-solving. However this can be compromised in both its applicability and/or relevance as the context of the practice or the articulation of the theory/practice relationship becomes esoteric to those other than design theorists. It is our observation, as supervisors and examiners of Design PhD students, that practice-led design researchers often get caught up in a research paradigm and process that reduces their project to a post-hoc rationalisation of the problem, the methodology and resulting knowledge; creating an output that alienates the intended primary audience. This paper examines methodological appropriateness for practice-led design research. It is based on a correlation of critical literature and reflection on several practice-led doctoral design projects. It considers the theoretical frameworks and research processes to support exploratory practice-led design research by expert designers. It argues that for this type of research the research question(s) and research design should co-evolve in order to generate new insight and understanding of future design directions; documenting this evolution forms a vital element of the research content

Editorial

Fashion Practice is the first peer-reviewed academic journal to cover the full range of contemporary design and manufacture within the context of the fashion industry. Design processes and new technologies fuel the most vibrant areas of fashion practice and commerce today, yet they have been largely ignored by scholarship. Fashion Practice fills this major gap by providing a much-needed forum for topics ranging from design theory to the impact of technology, economics and industry on fashion practice. Interdisciplinary and wide-ranging, Fashion Practice addresses the entire business of fashion, including: -innovation in fashion design and practice -sustainability and ethics within the industry -micro-and nano-technologies within the fashion context -'smart' textiles and digital fashion -materials, design, concepts and process -fashion consumption and production from retail/e-tail to performance fashion -new developments in fashion and clothing retai

Criticism and Function in Critical Design Practice

This article focuses on critical design as a field of industrial design practice. It considers some barriers and misconceptions to critical design practice being seen as part of a disciplinary project. The first part of the article reviews the criticism of critical design to identify inadequacies in how the criticism is grounded. Analysis of critical design practice often comes from perspectives developed in art and visual culture discourses. However, analyzing the practice from this perspective has limitations; instead, a more design-centric focus is needed. The second part of the article discusses “function”—a concept often used to ground criticism of critical design practice but, again, one that has limitations. Function offers insufficient grounds for criticism and claims that critical design is not a form of product design because the objects do not “function” in a utilitarian sense. I explore the concept of function to show not only that an object’s function has the potential to extend beyond utility, efficiency, and optimization, but also that even in the strictest modernist sense, function has always comprised characteristics that move into post-optimal realms—beyond efficient use, utility, and practical specifications. I argue instead for an emphasis on the relational, dynamic characteristics of function, which supports seeing, and discussing, critical design practice in the same manner that other examples of orthodox industrial design are discussed

The Relevance of Rigour for Design Practise

Design is an inverted discipline. The concept of rigour, as understood within the natural sciences, cannot be applied to Design Practice. Rigour for the natural sciences is a quality assurance mechanism ensuring that the knowledge bases of the disciplines are developed to an accepted set of standards. Design’s ontology is not like the natural sciences and as such an understanding of rigour for Design must proceed from an appropriate standpoint about the nature of Design Practice. This paper builds upon Harfield’s [1] ontological assessment of Design, Schön’s [2] [3] work on Reflective Practice and Spencer’s [4] investigation into the experience and practise of designing to develop a standpoint about Design Practice and make a proposition about the relevance of rigour for Design Practise. This paper considers how individual Reflective Practice practitioners, within the context of Design Practice, manage and ensure quality control through the application of care and thoroughness. This paper argues that rigour for Design Practise is the personal and phenomenological quality control of a design inquiry: a process of managing expanding mental chaos and restricting order

The prescriptive quality of 11 design principles for knowledge productivity

This study explores the learning processes that contribute to knowledge productivity: gradual improvement and radical innovation of an organisation’s operating procedures, products, and services, based on the development and application of new knowledge. The research is based on the assumption that innovation is the result of a series of powerful social learning processes. Previous research revealed a set of eleven design principles that reflect factors that really matter in an innovation process. The study at hand presents how these design principles facilitate the design of an innovation practice. Review workshops and design workshops were used to answer the main research question: How do the design principles facilitate the design of an innovation practice? The data reveals that the design principles do not work as prescriptive rules that in a specific combination, applied to a predefined situation, will result in certain effects. Every design principle offers a new perspective on the innovation practice. This new perspective helps to get new ideas for interventions in the innovation practice. After the design of these interventions it is mainly the facilitator who has an important role in making it a success. If he sees opportunities and is capable, then he can use the interventions to create breakthroughs in the innovation practice

Practice-centred approach to research in design

This paper gives an overview of practice-centred research programmes at Sheffield Hallam University and discusses the principles behind practice-centred research, its place in the Design School, its effect on the regional economy and the community and the resources and methods employed. Implications for research degrees are discussed and developments in the form of the PhD are described.</p

Trends and Design Relating literature to industry practice

In a crowded market place, where technology and functionality are not enough to differentiate a product from its competitors, the product’s appearance is a major driver of consumer preference. But preferences change over time, and product forms need to reflect this in order to stay relevant. This paper addresses the usage of trends by designers to inform the design and evolution of their products. Published theory regarding trends in product form exists in the fashion and consumer behaviour domains, but not in direct relation to the design of consumer products. This paper is preceded by a synthesis of literature in adjacent fields and compares the literature understanding with real industrial practice. Interviews with 9 professionals in trend research, design consultancy, furniture, fashion and architecture, were undertaken to explore the value and usage of trends across a variety of creative fields. The interview data were used to corroborate and enhance the literature understanding. In addition, the study also provides some emerging comparisons between design disciplines. The product designers interviewed were unlikely to use formal trend research methods: inspiration, tacit knowledge and experience accounts for much of their creative output. However, trend consultancies have developed methods of identifying and using trends to develop products for 5-10 years in the future. The fashion industry also has established ways of to rapidly identify or predict trend information. Keywords: Product form; trends; fashion; foresight</p

Approach to design practice based on collaborative platforms: application to bicycle mobility system in Porto

This research aims to create collaborative strategies and operative tools for design practice, applied in an urban sustainable mobility scenario. We find that co-creation platforms encourage an active approach involving the people in the development process leading to effective and holistic solutions. Initially we catalogued tools and collaborative met hods based on case studies, to identify and propose new approaches to various project phases, action modes, creation, development, testing and implementation of proposals. Through action-research methods we want to validate a toolkit applied in developing a bicycle mobility system in Porto (Portugal). Designers, users and stakeholders actively collaborated defining a real context of action, developing and implementing solutions. Started by a bottom-up approach, bringing together groups of city cyclists and sustainable mobility activists, and then the local authorities, the project enabled positive and local impact based on a democratic design approach. The replicative potential of this action model is a next challenge to various application scenarios