Learning Design Research

Introduction

• Create highly effective design solutions
• Using the exercise files
• Challenges

1. Why Design Research Matters

• Design research is designing in context
• Reignite your design process: Be a better designer
• Add value and credibility to your work

2. Understanding Different Research Methods

• Primary vs. secondary research
• Quantitative vs. qualitative research
• Generative vs. evaluative research
• Market research
• Ethnographic research
• Challenge: Choose which research methods to use
• Solution: Choose which research methods to use

3. Tools for Design Research

• Choose the right research tools
• Literature review
• Competitive analysis
• Observational note-taking
• Photo ethnography
• Questionnaire or survey
• Interview
• Focus group
• Advice for performing research
• Challenge: Taking good observational notes
• Solution: Taking good observational notes
• Challenge: Writing good interview questions
• Solution: Writing good interview questions

4. Creating a Design Research Plan

• Research process overview
• Craft a research plan: KWHL table
• Craft a research plan: The research logic model
• Determine an appropriate scope of research
• Challenge: Creating a design research plan
• Solution: Creating a design research plan

5. Synthesizing and Presenting Your Findings

• Make the most of your research
• Information frameworks
• Experience model: The five Es
• Create personas
• Use personas to help explain your research, part one
• Use personas to help explain your research, part two
• Visualize and document your research
• Challenge: Synthesizing and identifying design opportunities
• Solution: Synthesizing and identifying design opportunities

6. Using Research to Inform Design Solutions

• Utilize research to begin the design process
• User testing and rapid prototyping
• Evaluate the design research process

Conclusion

• Final thoughts
• Additional resources