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Subject:

Re: (Back To) Design Research

From:

ASHTON Philippa <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

ASHTON Philippa <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Tue, 12 Aug 2003 10:18:34 +0100

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (104 lines)

Dear All,
I wonder if the list has addressed the issue Prashant had in mind when
he posted a few days ago. He seems to be probing the difference between
design and market research and I wonder if he actually means where one
stops and the other starts within a commercial design process. We have
had lots of postings about design Research - research used here with a
capital 'R' meaning the creation of new knowledge etc etc as has been
well aired on this list before. But in the industrial context what
usually goes on is research - used here with a small 'r' to mean
identifying consumer needs, current trends etc etc (again as well aired
on this list, this could be 'R'esearch but this isn't the debate I want
to get into here).

So what is the difference between market and design research in the
industrial context? Let's start with the idea that market research is
undertaken by MR professionals and design research by design
professionals. They use different methods and different 'languages' and
the results therefore are often not communicable to each other. MR is
often not used by designers- either because they do not get to see it,
do not understand what it says or do not choose to believe what is says.
They can even come up with different answers to the same basic question!
Essentially however, the two exercises have a different purpose and
attempt to reduce risk and find answers to the questions posed at
different stages in the design process.

Colleagues have posted good suggestions for reading around design
r/Research issues and it is useful to compare methods and purposes as
suggested in these and what is suggested in any standard market research
text. Its also a subject specifically covered in books that explore the
design process or design management such as:

Bruce and Bessant (2002) Design in Business. Staretegic Innovation
Through Design. Prentice Hall

or

Hollins and Hollins (1991) Total Design. Managing the design process in
the service sector. Pitman

        However, design research may vary according to the product area
and I believe practice is vastly different at the moment from the kind
recommended in texts. My research (which is with design consultancies in
the UK) suggests that most designers first of all look for past
solutions to similar tasks from other often respected designers, rather
than going back to the fundamental human issues of the problem. In some
areas where design solutions need to be generated fast - as in say
graphics and fashion - there is no time for this fundamental research.
Design research is often therefore a continual process of absorbing new
ideas from a wide variety of places and people which is then 'stored'
for retrieval when a particular design need arises. It's fascinating to
speculate how or what individual designers choose to absorb and how this
then impacts upon the quality of their design solutions. This is a
substantial area of my own research which looks at social networks and
social capital and how designers use these to fuel innovation.

        Prashant, hope this helps


        Philippa Ashton


Principal Lecturer in Design Management
Staffordshire University
UK

and

Senior Research Fellow,
London Institute
UK



>       -----Original Message-----
>       From: Prashant Kutaula
>       Sent: 5/08/2003 1:48 PM
>       To: [log in to unmask]
>       Subject: Design Research
>
>
>       Dear Friends,
>
>       I would like the group to throw some light on some seminal texts
and literature on Design Research and how it is similar/different from
Market Research?
>
>       regds
>       Prashant,
>       Faculty - Design Management
>       NID, India
>
>
>
>

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