The Designer S Guide To Doing Research

The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research An essential introduction to applying research for busy architects and designers The competitive design market and the need to create enduring value place high demands on architects and designers to expand their knowledge base to be able to digest and utilize multiple sources of information. Expected by their clients to be well versed on all aspects of a project, time-constrained architects and designers need quick responses in the face of daily challenges. As a result, these professionals must—more than ever—rely on, and apply, readily accessible information culled from sound research to gain a competitive advantage. The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research serves as an introductory guide on the general concepts and processes that define “good” research. Organized logically with the practical tools necessary to obtain research for all facets of the designer’s workflow, this book offers: Material written in an accessible format specifically for practitioners Reliable content by experienced authors—a noted environmental psychologist and an interior design educator who is also a practitioner and writer Tools for planning, executing, and utilizing research presented in an easy-to-follow format along with case studies, sources, and applications Written for all practices and people concerned with the built environment, from architects and interior designers to facility managers, landscape architects, and urban planners, this book serves as an invaluable starting point for gathering and implementing research effectively.

This book is the guide to understanding and doing evidence-based research in design.

Doing research can make all the difference between a great design and a good design. By engaging in competitive intelligence, customer profiling, color and trend forecasting, etc., designers are able to bring something to the table that reflects a commercial value for the client beyond a well-crafted logo or brochure. Although scientific and analytical in nature, research is the basis of all good design work. This book provides a comprehensive manual for designers on what design research is, why it is necessary, how to do research, and how to apply it to design work.

Design is everywhere. It influences how we live, what we wear, how we communicate, what we buy, and how we behave. To design for the real world and define strategies rather than just implement them, you need to learn how to understand and solve complex, intricate and often unexpected problems. Research for Designers is the guide to this new, evidence-based creative process for anyone doing research in Design Studies or looking to develop their design research skills. The book: Takes an organized approach to walking you through the basics of research. Highlights the importance of data. Encourages you to think in a cross-disciplinary way. Including interviews with 10 design experts from across the globe, this guide helps you put theory into practice and conduct successful design research.

The User Experience Team of One prescribes a range of approaches that have big impact and take less time and fewer resources than the standard lineup of UX deliverables. Whether you want to cross over into user experience or you're a seasoned practitioner trying to drag your organization forward, this book gives you tools and insight for doing more with less.

Doing Research in Design presents new ways of thinking about the relationship between design and research by positioning design as a social as well as a material practice. This approach emphasises the social consequences of design decisions as well as the importance of the efficient functioning of a design. Doing Research in Design argues that design promotes social change and that, in order to understand that change, designers must turn to social science research methods. The book outlines the relationships between thinking and doing in design - and makes explicit links between design, research, philosophy and sociology - and then examines four central social research methodologies in practice. The aim of Doing Research in Design is to provide anyone involved in the field of design with the knowledge and understanding of the best methods to plan and conduct their research.

Learn how to use field research to bring essential people-centred insights to your information design projects. Information design is recognized as the practice of making complex data and information understandable for a particular audience, but what’s often overlooked is the importance of understanding the audience themselves during the information design process. Rather than rely on intuition or assumptions, information designers need evidence gathered from real people about how they think, feel, and behave in order to inform the design of effective solutions. To do this, they need field research. If you’re unsure about field research and how it might fit into a project, this book is for you. This text presents practical, easy-to-follow instructions for planning, designing, and conducting a field study, as well as guidance for making sense of field data and translating findings into action. The selection of established methods and techniques, drawn from social sciences, anthropology, and participatory design, is geared specifically toward information design problems. Over 80 illustrations and five real-world case studies bring key principles and methods of field research to life. Whether you are designing a family of icons or a large-scale signage system, an instruction manual or an interactive data visualization, this book will guide you through the necessary steps to ensure you are meeting people’s needs.

This textbook/workbook prepares interior design students for understanding how to change their professional practice from a project-based activity to a knowledge-based activity. Robinson and Parman address the different forms of quantitative and qualitative information, the different sources of materials (especially in the age of the Internet), and how to differentiate these sources and types of information. Instructors will find the text a vital research aid for the student to develop analytical skills and help them transform these scientific models into unique and innovative processes for their design projects. Student resources featuring sample projects and documents and additional resources can be found at https://www.fairchildbooks.com/studio-resources