Students should ideally go back and forth between their dissertation and their practice. Both should be done in tandem. If the dissertation is done before engaging into practice, the practice merely becomes the ‘packaging’ of the research. New knowledge should emerge from practice as well. The design practice can be cross-fertilised with disciplines such as psychology, sociology, political science, communication studies, philosophy or literary studies,  as well as performance arts, contemporary arts, music, or other design disciplines – but the core of the research should be anchored in design. 

To help students select their design research methods, it is relevant to position the design research in time, for example:

past historical approach, archival search

present social science approach, human-centred approach, x-centred approach, applied

future speculative approach, design fiction, tech futures, foresight

Digital Research Repository

Research Proposal 

Dissertation

Design Primer

Graduation Project

Creative Process Journal

Computation

1. The use or operation of a computer

2. The act or process of computing or calculating something

Computation is any type of calculation that includes both arithmetic and non-arithmetical steps and follows a well-defined model, for example an algorithm.

Computational Thinking

In education, computational thinking is a set of problem-solving methods that involve expressing problems and their solutions in ways that a computer could execute.

Computational thinking is a process in which you creatively apply to a problem-solving cycle to develop and test solutions with the help of computers.

Computational Design

John Maeda defines three kinds of design as a working model to build upon:  classical design, which pertains to the design of objects we use in the physical world,  design thinking, which pertains to how organisations learn how to collaborate and innovate using ideation methods, and computational design, which pertains to any kind of creative activity that involves processors, memory, sensors, actuators, and the network.

Classical Design

Design Thinking

Computational Design

Thinking critically about Technology

Use all three kinds of Design

Understand Computation

Actively learning The New

empathise

define

ideate

prototype

test

Design Thinking is an iterative and non-linear process that contains five phases: empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test.

empathise

define

ideate

prototype

test

discover

define

deliver

develop

challenge

outcome

Problem definition and future insights

We will encounter different kinds of technologies along the way. These may be relevant to your project on a theoretical basis or in your practical work, or both. 

Sometimes you may need to step out of your comfort zone and into a technical adventure that you may not be familiar with. Don't shy away from such challenges, but see them as an opportunity to learn new skills and go beyond what you are more experienced with.

There are a large number of software and hardware tools out there. Which one is the right one? 

If you're not sure, let's discuss the options in class to find the right tool for the right application. Sometimes it's not the tool, but the application that gets in the way and needs to be rethought or tweaked.

Tools and skills can be learned.

Technologies, whether analog or digital, are often closely linked to shaping ideas and making them come alive. Making should become an essential part of your practical work. It would be unfortunate to delay making until the last minute. Instead, making should be in constant dialogue between your research and your dissertation.

Rather than thinking that making must and will happen in one go, you should embrace it as a continuing process that takes place in small steps over a longer period of time.

Making is an iterative process and has to be practice.

are.na

Cargo

Google Docs

Miro

Visual Studio Code

platform

platform

tool

tool

code, tool

web, research

web, research, archive

writing, organising

mapping, ideating

coding html, css, web-development

Arduino

Blender

Figma

node-js

Processing

p5js

Python

Touch Designer

Unity

Unreal Engine

hardware, microcontroller

3D modelling, animation

ui/ux, wireframe

system, desktop, server

generative, design, interactivity

web-based, generative, design

system, desktop, AI, machine learning

interactivity, real-time audio-visual

interactivity, mobile, AR, real-time

real-time, 3D, interactivity, VR

code (Arduino, c/c++)

ui, node-based, code (python)

ui, node-based

code (javascript)

code (java)

code (javascript)

code (python)

node-based (python)

code, node-based (C#)

node-based

3D printer

Electronics*

Lasercutter

Paper

Screen

Sound recorder

Sound system

experiment, prototype, artefact

experiment, prototype, artefact

experiment, prototype, artefact

experiment, prototype, artefact

experiment, prototype, artefact

experiment, prototype, artefact

experiment, prototype, artefact

workshop

self, lab, sim lim

lab

self

self, lab

self (phone), lab (zoom recorder)

self, lab

Sound

Media Arts

Engineering

Creative Technology

In Research through Design (RtD), researchers generate new knowledge by understanding the current state and then suggesting an improved future state in the form of a design.

It involves deep reflection in iteratively understanding the people, problem, and context around a situation that researchers feel they can improve.

Research through Design is a way of producing research that comes with opportunities to practice the craft of design. It's a way of expressing and materialising knowledge and insights, acquired based on hands-on design work, packaged into a scientific format.

Research through design is to use design as a research method as an approach for learning about things other than design, gaining access to knowledge that would have been impossible otherwise. A modern example of research through design is user experience studies, where people engage with new inventions.

→ Collaboration with other disciplines and peers

→ Iterative process of  making, testing, refining

→ Aligning practice with research and writing

→ to go back and forth between research, design practice and dissertation

→ Research contribution through practice

→ Collaboration with other disciplines and peers

→ Iterative process of  making, testing, refining

→ Aligning practice with research and writing

→ to go back and forth between research, design practice and dissertation

→ Research contribution through practice

Doing Research

Doing Design

Artefact

Prototype

Knowledge

Design Practice

1. A commercial design agenda centres on profit

2. A responsible design agenda centres on serving the underserved

3. An experimental design agenda centres on exploration

4. A discursive design agenda centres on audience reflection

1. Seminar and Briefings: find slides presented in class in pdf format under this section Week 1 Intro, Week 1 RPO

2. Suggested Readings: gives you readings to how to write your research proposal, general research methods (please note that there are other methods that may be more relevant to your research)

3. Resources: find templates and forms,  further reading and more under this section.

1. Find general details regarding your graduation project on the learning portal.

2. How-to slides for putting together your Digital Research Repository Slides

Explore

Ideate

Make

Test

Share

We will meet on a weekly basis Tuesdays 9.30 and Thursdays 9.30 in D301. For a breakdown of the weekly schedule, navigate downwards.

Cohort meets for dissertation introduction. Dissertation module, timeline, emphases, resources.

Cohort Briefing, Induction to the Module. Structure and Expectations: timeline, deadlines. Briefing on online repository. Students then present their homework.

Group Consultation 1:
Organising research

Computation in Design Atelier presentation, what will be covered, what activities are planned, followed by group discussions.

Workshops on Interviews and Case Studies

Workshop 1.1 Experiments

Workshop 1.2 Experiments

Group Consultation 2: Research and writing, critical journal, Research Proposal progress.

On Making & Consultation: By schedule, in groups of two, each 20 mins. Identifying skills, tools, practical exercises, direction.  Formative Assessment Briefing

Studio work

CPJ work-check

Workshops on Interviews and Case Studies

Individual Consultation 1.1: Research proposal. By schedule, in groups of two, each 20 mins.

Individual Consultation 1.2: Research proposal. By schedule, in groups of two, each 20 mins.

Seminar

Research Proposal Draft

Formative Assessment Submission

Group Consultation 3: ad-hoc

Individual consultation: By schedule, in groups of two, each 15 mins. Project focus and development.

Workshop 2.1 Prototyping

Workshop 2.2 Prototyping

Group Consultation 4: Looking ahead, Dissertation.

Sharing session. Briefing students on Summative Assessment, briefing on Design Primer.

Group Consultation 5

Research Proposal Outline Submission

Individual Consultation 2.1: Students to address the roadmap for next semester. What can be achieved, which parts are of concern.

Independent Study

Independent Study

Independent Study

Independent Study

n/a

Submission: Students submit their Portfolio and CPJ. The Portfolio includes: Semester 1 Body of works and the Design Primer, a Proposal for Sem 2.

Closing notes, discussions and submission preparation.

Individual Consultation 2.2: Students to address the roadmap for next semester. What can be achieved, which parts are of concern.

Cohort meets for dissertation introduction. Dissertation module, timeline, emphases, resources.

Cohort Briefing, Induction to the Module. Structure and Expectations: timeline, deadlines. Briefing on online repository. Students then present their homework.

Group Consultation 1:
Organising research

Computation in Design Atelier presentation, what will be covered, what activities are planned, continue with project presentations followed by group discussions.

Workshops on Interviews and Case Studies

Workshop 1.1 Experiments

Experimental

Again, it might be helpful to remember the Latin origin of this category. You could translate it as: the brain, or just the competence of understanding and thinking, derives from perishing or even from catastrophe.

It is the experience-based emancipation from any beliefs, from the misconception of assuming that we live in a harmonious world governed by mathematical rules: this means being aware of the necessity to take risks, of interventions and of somersaults in order to gain something like insights into what is happening and why it is happening.

The advanced quality of experimentation is based on the fact that experimentation always changes situations, correlations, and conditions. Experimentation never takes anything as a given fact, rather, anything is open to change.

That is: experimentation is both confusing and normal. Experimentation does not accept that rules and regulations are fixed. And experimentation is able to see mistakes and misunderstandings as potential qualities for innovation and for developing new perspectives.

Experiments and prototypes often overlap in meaning and application, depending on the domain in which they are used. An experiment may be beyond the scope of a prototype, and the prototype becomes part of the experiment. Experiments are often tests with a specific number of parameters or variables, where the goal is to find the best result based on the constellation of parameters.

An experiment in the broader sense may also refer to practicing by trial and error, trying and testing the unknown, and learning through a process of approximation and correction until a satisfactory state is reached. This state may mean that a particular problem has been solved, or that a state of beauty has been achieved, or some other form of successful (or possibly unsuccessful) result.

By using controlled experiments, you can either prove or disprove your assumptions in their real context and thus further refine—or even abandon—your initial idea.

One of the best ways to learn about the positive and negative dynamics of your solutions is to take physical action, by experimenting with and exploring potential solutions. When you prototype, you bring your ideas onto a tangible plane, which will enable you and your team to see and discuss the pros and cons, to learn from users’ feedback, and to create little opportunities for creative serendipity. So, stop thinking, and start doing now.

Experimental prototyping sounds fancy. In reality it means constructing your designs and prototypes as an experiment, with hypotheses that can be disproved or validated. I like the tension between the common conception of experimental design, and the practical application of design experiments. On the one hand, we are engaging in an experiment. On the other hand, we are working in an ambiguous, nonscientific field of design. Our designs are not held to the same rigorous review as a scientific experiment.

This experiment strives for consistent methods and variables, and a testable hypothesis. On the other hand, we are working in an ambiguous, nonscientific field of design. Our designs are not held to the same rigorous review as a scientific experiment. What we can learn from these experiments gives us increasingly deeper knowledge about the experiences and products we design.

The experimental design agenda is primarily exploration, experimentation, and discovery, where the process can be more important than its outcome. In its purest form, it is not driven by an overly specific end-goal of application but rather by curiosity or a question.

Its value tends to lie in what is learned in the process of designing rather than in the merits of the final artefact itself—often it is just a symbol or evidence of the process or potential. Typically, it is an inquiry into, for example, a technology, a manufacturing technique, a material, a concept, a context, or an aesthetic issue. Experimental design can be done as a form of design research, to test a hypothesis, or to learn something. 

The four fields framework, Experimental Design

In academia, thought experiments are broadly understood as “devices of the imagination used to investigate the nature of things.” They derive their authority from following the principles used in physical experimentation.

Dunne and Raby argue that the strength of the analogy between thought experiments and speculative design stems from a property shared by both concepts: they allow us to imaginatively investigate possibilities, which permits us “to step outside reality for a moment to try something.” The analogy has since persisted in the field and is also present in art.

Speculative Design as Thought Experiment

Workshop 1.2 Experiments

Group Consultation 2: Research and writing, critical journal, Research Proposal progress.

The focus of this group consultation is to work through the first part of your Research Proposal Outline. We will specifically look at Title, Subtitle, Introduction and Summary of Reading. Details have been shared with you via email.

Looking ahead to week 5 and 6 start preparing for the remaining Research Proposal Outline sections: Research Objective, Approach/Method, Timeline, References and Appendix.

Question about methods came up during the consultation session and how they fit into the Critical Journal framework.

The Critical Journal framework will guide you through your research and practical work in a chronological and structured fashion. You will critically document, analyse, reflect and write about your making at different stages. 

How will you make? Different milestones will be defined by using and applying different methods in the process.

For example in the beginning of your work you will conduct a series of experiments: Brainstorming, concept sketch, sensorial, empathy map, mash-up.

This is followed by more defined prototypes: Prototyping, clickable prototype, workshop.

At certain stages you will need feedback which you can get through: Observation, testing.

Note that the above is only an example,  but the methods are a good fit for a work that uses the critical journal framework, be selective though.

The selected papers on the right can give you a better idea of how a project can be presented in writing by critically documenting, analysing, reflecting one's research and practical work. Have a read and browser through the proceedings as well.

On Making & Consultation: By schedule, in groups of two, each 20 mins. Identifying skills, tools, practical exercises, activities. Formative Assessment Briefing

Talk by Joe Chung (6pm)

Workshops on Interviews and Case Studies. Scheduled Individual tutorials

I meet you individually for a consultation on your Research Proposal Outline (RPO). Please have all the sections filled with at least initial bullet points.