The Role of Research in Design Practice
9.17.2021
On the surface of design, it can look like a simple process. It can look like the alignment of lines and the creation of shapes, but it can be deeply informed. Successful design is well-grounded in research. It uses different methods to inform and strengthen design decisions. Since design is about communication, research helps to communicate ideas more clearly and accurately. Design can easily become impersonal without research. Looking in-depth into a client’s business or project and implementing that research into the final product gives them the personal touch they desire. Research also helps a designer ensure the functionality of a project. By getting feedback from users, a designer can address what doesn’t work and refine what does work.
When choosing what kind of research method to use, you would first need to decide what kind of results you are looking for. When looking for results that are objective, like numbers, you would choose a quantitative research method. Having exact measurements can give you solid data, but can be very confining when applied to creativity. If you are looking for objective data, such as words, responses, images, and experiences, you would choose a qualitative method. In many design projects, especially as a human-centered designer, qualitative research methods are more fruitful. They are better at representing humans because humans are too complexed to be accurately encompassed and expressed by numerical values.
Research can be obtained from different sources, whether quantitative or qualitative. Primary research is data obtained directly by the researcher. If a researcher obtains data from an already existing source, though, that would be using secondary research. Depending on the topic, one may be more useful than the other, but they can be used simultaneously to get a well-rounded data set. Finally, research can be formative or summative. Formative research is useful to discover a problem. It helps to form the question of what needs to be fixed. Summative research identifies the outcome of a project. It aims to answer the question that was originally formed.
In today's design world, research is as important of a skill as illustrating or typography is. It supplies a deeper layer that supports the purpose of a design. It provides a foundation and a means of obtaining feedback on your design, and this guarantees that it never stops improving.