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Design Researcher
Design research was originally constituted as primarily concerned with ways of supporting and improving the process of design, developing from work in design methods. The concept has been expanded to include research embedded within the process of design and research-based design practice, research into the cognitive and communal processes of designing, and extending into wider aspects of socio-political, ethical and environmental contexts of design. It retains a sense of generality, recognising design as a creative act common to many fields, and aimed at understanding design processes and practices quite broadly. Origins Design research emerged as a recognisable field of study in the 1960s, initially marked by a conference on Design methods at Imperial College London, in 1962. It led to the founding of the Design Research Society (DRS) in 1966. John Christopher Jones (one of the initiators of the 1962 conference) founded a postgraduate Design Research Laboratory at the Universi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Design
A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something – its design. The verb ''to design'' expresses the process of developing a design. In some cases, the direct construction of an object without an explicit prior plan may also be considered to be a design (such as in arts and crafts). A design is expected to have a purpose within a specific context, typically aiming to satisfy certain goals and constraints while taking into account aesthetic, functional and experiential considerations. Traditional examples of designs are architectural and engineering drawings, circuit diagrams, sewing patterns, and less tangible artefacts such as business process models.Dictionary meanings in the /dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/design Cambridge Dictionary of American English at /www. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Engineering Design Process
The engineering design process, also known as the engineering method, is a common series of steps that engineers use in creating functional products and processes. The process is highly iterative – parts of the process often need to be repeated many times before another can be entered – though the part(s) that get iterated and the number of such cycles in any given project may vary. It is a decision making process (often iterative) in which the engineering sciences, basic sciences and mathematics are applied to convert resources optimally to meet a stated objective. Among the fundamental elements of the design process are the establishment of objectives and criteria, synthesis, analysis, construction, testing and evaluation. Common stages It's important to understand that there are various framings/articulations of the engineering design process. Different terminology employed may have varying degrees of overlap, which affects what steps get stated explicitly or deemed " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
User-centered Design
User-centered design (UCD) or user-driven development (UDD) is a framework of processes in which usability goals, user characteristics, environment, tasks and workflow of a product, service or brand are given extensive attention at each stage of the design process. This attention includes testing which is conducted during each stage of design and development from the envisioned requirements, through pre-production models to post production. Testing is beneficial as it is often difficult for the designers of a product to understand the experiences of first-time users and each user's learning curve. UCD is based on the understanding of a user, their demands, priorities and experiences, and can lead to increased product usefulness and usability. UCD applies cognitive science principles to create intuitive, efficient products by understanding users' mental processes, behaviors, and needs. UCD differs from other product design philosophies in that it tries to optimize the produ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reflective Practice
Reflective practice is the ability to reflect on one's actions so as to take a critical stance or attitude towards one's own practice and that of one's peers, engaging in a process of continuous adaptation and learning. According to one definition it involves "paying critical attention to the practical values and theories which inform everyday actions, by examining practice reflectively and reflexively. This leads to developmental insight". A key rationale for reflective practice is that experience alone does not necessarily lead to learning; deliberate Human self-reflection, reflection on experience is essential. Reflective practice can be an important tool in practice-based professional learning settings where people learn from their own professional experiences, rather than from formal learning or knowledge transfer. It may be the most important source of personal professional development and improvement. It is also an important way to bring together theory and practice; throu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Design Theory
Design theory is a subfield of design research concerned with various theoretical approaches towards understanding and delineating design principles, design knowledge, and design practice. History Design theory has been approached and interpreted in many ways, from designers' personal statements of design principles, through constructs of the philosophy of design to a search for a design science. The essay "Ornament and Crime" by Adolf Loos from 1908 is one of the early 'principles' design-theoretical texts. Others include Le Corbusier's ''Vers une architecture'' (1923),Le Corbusier, ''Vers une architecture" (1923) and Victor Papanek's ''Design for the real world'' (1972). In a 'principles' approach to design theory, the De Stijl movement (founded in 1917) promoted a geometrical abstract, "ascetic" form of purism that was limited to functionality. This modernist attitude underpinned the Bauhaus movement (1919 onwards). Principles were drawn up for design that were appl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Design Studies
Design studies can refer to any design-oriented studies but is more formally an academic discipline or field of study that pursues, through both theoretical and practical modes of inquiry, a critical understanding of design practice and its effects in society. Characteristics and scope Design studies encompasses the study of both the internal practices of design and the external effects that design activity has on society, culture and the environment. Susan Yelavich explained design studies as embracing "two broad perspectives—one that focuses inward on the nature of design and one that looks outward to the circumstances that shape it, and conversely, the circumstances design changes, intentionally or not". This dual aspect is reflected in the complementary orientations of the two leading journals in the field. ''Design Studies'' (established 1979) is "the interdisciplinary journal of design research" and is "focused on developing understanding of design processes". '' Design I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contextual Inquiry
Contextual inquiry (CI) is a user-centered design (UCD) research method, part of the contextual design methodology. A contextual inquiry interview is usually structured as an approximately two-hour, one-on-one interaction in which the researcher watches the user in the course of the user's normal activities and discusses those activities with the user. Description Contextual inquiry defines four principles to guide the interaction: * Context— Interviews are conducted in the user's actual workplace. The researcher watches users do their own work tasks and discusses any artifacts they generate or use with them. In addition, the researcher gathers detailed re-tellings of specific past events when they are relevant to the project focus. * Partnership—User and researcher collaborate to understand the user's work. The interview alternates between observing the user as he or she works and discussing what the user did and why. * Interpretation—The researcher shares interpretations ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Action Research
Action research is a philosophy and methodology of research generally applied in the social sciences. It seeks transformative change through the simultaneous process of taking action and doing research, which are linked together by critical reflection. Kurt Lewin, then a professor at MIT, first coined the term "action research" in 1944. In his 1946 paper "Action Research and Minority Problems" he described action research as "a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action and research leading to social action" that uses "a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of the action". Process Action research is an interactive inquiry process that balances problem-solving actions implemented in a collaborative context with data-driven collaborative analysis or research to understand underlying causes enabling future predictions about personal and organizational change. After seve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Semantic Turn
The semantic turn refers to a paradigm shift in the design of artifacts – industrial, graphic, informational, architectural, and social – from an emphasis on how artifacts ought to function to what they mean to those affected by them – semantics being a concern for meaning. It provides a new foundation for professional design, a detailed design discourse, codifications of proven methods, compelling scientific justifications of its products, and a clear identity for professional designers working within a network of their stakeholders. The semantic turn suggests a distinction between the technical and user-irrelevant working of artifacts and the human interactions with artifacts, individually, socially, and culturally. Attending to the technical dimension of artifacts, for example, by applied scientists, mechanical or electronic engineers, and experts in economics, production, and marketing, is called technology-centered design. It addresses its subject matter in terms that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald Schön
Donald Alan Schön (September 19, 1930 – September 13, 1997) was an American philosopher and professor in urban planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He developed the concept of reflective practice and contributed to the theory of organizational learning. Education and career He was born in Boston and brought up in Massachusetts, at Brookline and Worcester.Donald Schon at infed.org accessed July 2007 After undertaking a Bachelor's at , he completed Master's and doctoral studies in philosophy at . His thesis dealt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigel Cross
Nigel Cross (born 1942) is a British academic, a design researcher and educator, Emeritus Professor of Design Studies at The Open University, United Kingdom, where he was responsible for developing the first distance-learning courses in design in the early 1970s. He was an editor of the journal ''Design Studies'' from its inception in 1979, Editor in Chief 1984-2017 and Emeritus Editor in Chief 2018-23. Cross helped clarify and develop the concept of design thinking (or "designerly ways of knowing") related to the development of design as an academic discipline An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, a .... He is one of the key people of the Design Research Society. Education Nigel Cross studied architecture at the University of Bath 1961-1966. He then took an MSc course i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Science Foundation
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health. With an annual budget of about $9.9 billion (fiscal year 2023), the NSF funds approximately 25% of all federally supported basic research conducted by the List of American institutions of higher education, United States' colleges and universities. In some fields, such as mathematics, computer science, economics, and the social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing. NSF's director and deputy director are appointed by the president of the United States and Advice and consent, confirmed by the United States Senate, whereas the 24 president-appointed members of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
