At the end of a carefully argued post, Ken Friedman wrote:
'... I prefer the word "design" for "design research," for
the larger coverage it affords. In my view, the term "designing" is
appropriate for a specific and more limited range of issues and
research streams focuses on the human activity of designing rather
than the larger field within which this act takes place.'
I am much happier with this solution. Terry Love's earlier suggestion that Design Research should be limited to the study of the human activity of designing was I thought too narrow. It was too easily contested by those non-designers who might choose to study this activity and not call it design research e.g. ethnographers doing such a study. It was also unreasonable to exclude from the field of design research the research that designers might do through designing. Personally I believe the latter is a strong thread in the developing field of design research and, as the discipline matures and more designers get involved, may eventually account for the bulk of activity.
Dr Geoff Matthews
Course Leader MA Interdisciplinary Design
Lincoln School of Architecture
University of Lincoln, UK
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