Design Research Through Practice

8. Design Things

Models, Scenarios, Prototypes

Perhaps the most conspicuous feature of constructive design research is that it constantly borrows methods and processes from design practice. It is these “design things” that bring people together in research. When doing user studies, researchers use various props. When working in the studio, they bodystorm and role-play ideas to get a firsthand understanding of how people would experience them. When working through these ideas in design, they use moodboards, scenarios, mock-ups, and prototypes. Methods like these bring those design sensitivities that are the crux of designers’ professional skill into research. Just like the theoretical background we talked about in Chapter 7, these methods create ...