Lecture 8: What is research?

As a graphic designer, research is one of the most vital steps of the design process as it allows us to create conceptual and interesting designs that we may not have thought of without the influence of deeper research. 

My degree programme is split into three areas, each of which use the research process in a different way to the other. It is important that I understand how the research is informing my work in a different way for each and how it relates to graphic design as a discipline.

Context of Practice - research about the practise and the context in which it exists.

Personal Professional Practice - research into the practise, what your discipline is, how it works in industry.

Studio Practice -research as a practise, idea generation is based on conceptual investigation. 

Evaluation, reflection and critical analysis of research is just as important as the research. This final process allows designers to think about relationships and connections between different ideas and concepts so that it is effectively used and not just gathered.

Experiential learning:

Knowledge

Analysis

Comprehension

Application

Evaluation

Synthesis

Process is more important than outcome?

“When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we’ve already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there”

without research, you will only ever do what you can already do and there will be no new ideas and development within the design industry.

We are problem solvers – form of research

“Everyone is a genius at least once a year”

You have to get things wrong to know when you do something right. Your practise would become stagnant if you didn’t. Practise makes perfect!! That’s why is called studio practise.

Don’t be worried about getting it wrong, fail quicker and then you have more time to get it right and practise.

Ideas are the currency of what we do

Ideas drive our projects forward and create opportunities.

“Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought”

– Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

THE GENERATION AND INVESTIGATION OF IDEAS

Stimulated approach

A conscious or subconscious search for inspiration from an external repertoire: in the surroundings, the media, discussion etc.

Systematic approach

The systematic collection and modification of components, characteristics and means of expression: structuring and restructuring, enlarging and reducing, combining and extracting, replacing, adding, mirroring or reproducing

Intuitive approach

The development of thought process, primarily based on internalised perceptions and knowledge. This type of thought process may occur spontaneously, without being evoked specially.

Research is the process of finding facts. These facts will lead to knowledge. Research is done by using what is already known.

Clever people ask questions… we get the knowledge that we need to help us out. It means you are hungry to find out, not stupid.

What are the right questions to ask? How, why, what if, who?

PRIMARY RESEARCH – developed and collected for a specific end use, data that does not exist yet.

SECONDARY RESEARCH – published or recorded data that already exists but we can then analyse the material and use it to enrich our output.

QUANTATIVE RESEARCH – numerical data or data that can be converted into numbers. The gathering and analysing of measurable data. Research that is objective and relies on statistical analysis, such as surveys.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH – observation, opinion and interacting with people and finding out what they think. Research is involved in quality and the information gathered is not statistical, but gives an idea about the perceptions or views. Subjective?

What is information?

Information is the result of processing, manipulating an organising data in a way that adds to the knowledge of the person receiving it.

Data that has been processed to add to create meaning and hopefully knowledge for the person who receives it. Information is the output of information systems

Information should be sufficient, competent, relevant, and useful.

Methodology: how do we collect research?

1. Assimilation

-       the accumulation and ordering of general information and information’s specifically related to the problem in hand

2. General study

-       The investigation of the nature of the problem

-       The investigation of possible solutions

3. Development

-       the development and refinement of one or more of the tentative solutions isolated during phase 2

4. Communication

-       the communication of one of more solutions to people either inside or outside the design team