Design Research and Its Influence on the Practice of Design

AS THE PRACTICE OF DESIGN seeks to find ways to gain relevance in a
changing economy, designers and design firms understand the important role
design research programs will have in their future.
Today, design excellence is synonymous with design knowledge. In order
to be an effective design leader, designers use vision, knowledge, understanding,
and communication. They develop a clearly stated and cogent design discourse
based in knowledge.
Building a research expertise can have a powerful effect on design
futures. It alters the perceived value of both the products and services provided
by designers. A research orientation promotes greater insight into viable
practices and methods. From the profession’s view, it enhances the body of
knowledge that becomes the foundation from which all professionals derive
solutions. Its potential is enhanced by associations to other fields of knowledge.
By facilitating cross-disciplinary collaboration, the design research
approach encourages greater acceptance of design as a political, economic,
technological, material, and cultural activity.
Today, it’s no longer viable for the discipline of design to rely on preconceived
design processes. Issues of globalization, speed, technology,
sustainability, and more are transforming how design is practiced. Since
LEED certification has focused attention on quantifiable goals, interest in
numeric objectives can be expected to increase. Designers are reexamining
current design methodology with a goal of creating new processes with
greater access to sources of knowledge. Nondesigners have also recognized
the ways that design thinking can help resolve fundamental economic and
social issues.