2022 journal article
Design Exploration as a Research Discovery Phase: Integrating the Graduate Design Thesis with Research in the Social Sciences
Dialectic, 3(1).
quod.lib.umich.edu (publisher PDF)
Source: Crossref
Added: July 19, 2023
Contemporary research problems are complex, and design must better integrate with the social sciences to have an equal part in addressing them.The terminal master's degree in design (usually an MFA or MDes in the United States) can prepare students for this integration, but doing so requires that design activity be adapted to ultimately contribute to evidence-based research, rather than remaining unchanged and retroactively deemed to be a form of research.To achieve this end, I present design-based discovery, a model of design inquiry that situates design within the theory development cycle as theory building, not theory testing.Design-based discovery has recently been codified in a master's program in graphic design at a public research university in the US.In this article, I outline six investigation components that together represent this model, and support these with examples.Notably, the investigation components include a standardized format for research questions, as well as the derivation of design principles from processes that involve exploration rather than those that yield solutions.This model can readily be adopted in other master's programs with the requisite resources, which has the potential to make design essential within research universities.