Design Research Methods
Design research methods are the systematic approaches by which designers and design scholars generate knowledge about, for, and through design.
Definition
Design research methods are systematic procedures for producing knowledge in design, whether about design practice, in support of designing, or through the act of designing itself.
Scope
This topic covers methods for studying users and contexts, the distinction between research into, for, and through design, research through design and practice-based research, and the use of prototypes, probes, and design experiments as instruments of inquiry. It addresses how design research relates to established social-science and humanities methods and how knowledge claims can be warranted in a practice-based field.
Core questions
- What distinguishes research into, for, and through design?
- How can designing itself produce generalisable knowledge?
- What methods study users, contexts, and the use of artefacts?
- How are knowledge claims warranted in practice-based research?
Key theories
- Research into, for, and through design
- Frayling's influential distinction separates research about design (its history and theory), research for design (gathering knowledge to inform a design), and research through design (knowledge generated in the act of making).
- Design as a discipline with its own epistemology
- Cross argues that design has distinctive ways of knowing and that design research should build on these rather than merely import scientific method, supporting a constructive, project-grounded epistemology.
History
Design research grew from the methods movement of the 1960s and the establishment of design as an academic discipline. Frayling's 1993 framing helped legitimise practice-based research in art and design, and from the 2000s 'research through design' and constructive design research were articulated as distinctive methodologies alongside imported social-science methods.
Debates
- Rigour and generalisation in research through design
- Whether knowledge produced through individual design projects can meet standards of rigour and generalisability comparable to the sciences, or whether design research needs its own criteria for validity and contribution.
Key figures
- Christopher Frayling
- Nigel Cross
- Ilpo Koskinen
- John Zimmerman
Related topics
Seminal works
- frayling1993
- cross2001
- koskinen2011
Frequently asked questions
- What is research through design?
- Research through design is an approach in which the act of designing and making artefacts is itself the method of inquiry, producing knowledge that is embodied in or revealed by the designed outcome rather than reported separately.
- How does design research differ from scientific research?
- Design research often aims to produce knowledge that is generative and oriented to creating preferred situations, and it may treat designed artefacts as both outcome and evidence, whereas scientific research typically aims to describe and explain existing phenomena.