Design Research: Methods and Perspectives (review)

Design research is how you bring intent and capability into context. . . . The hypothesis that drives this book is that there is a direct relationship between the quality of design and the willingness of the designer to take on mindful explorations of what lies beneath a beautiful surface.

—Brenda Laurel (p. 316).

These words from Laurel's conclusion to Design Research point out very precisely the book's aim. What does one have to know in a design process? How does one get to know it? How can pitfalls and misconceptions be avoided? These questions are addressed in Design Research. The book shows the value of known research methods and examples of their application as well as examples of innovative and even speculative approaches to design and how they lead to success. Peter Lunefeld writes in the preface: "At its best, a lively research methodology can reinvigorate the passion that so often fades after designers 'join the profession'" (p. 12).

I found the title of the book a bit misleading. Because of my personal, mostly academic background, I expected a book on academic design research, whereas it is actually about investigations as part of design practice. But once I understood the focus—which is most clearly pointed out in the conclusion—I was able to really enjoy the book.

The four sections of the book, "People," "Form," "Process" and "Action," introduce aspects of finding out more about who a designer is dealing with, what the product could be, how to achieve outstanding results and the relation of process and outcome.

In addition to the linear line-up of the sections and the articles within them, the book offers two kinds of cross-references. One is a table relating the articles to different content categories. The major categories are Domains, Subjects, Contexts, and Research Methodologies. Subcategories of Research Methodologies include Experimental, Qualitative, Quantitative, Speculative and Experiential. This table is extremely valuable for giving an overview and helping one choose single articles for serendipitous reading. The other kind of cross-reference can be found within the texts as a specially colored pointer to another contribution in the book. When reading the book from beginning to end, these are not very helpful, but I can imagine that it could be interesting to follow a reference when reading the book in a nonlinear fashion.

Design Research is an edited book and very heterogeneous. One thing the contributions have in common is that the authors talk about firsthand experiences and usually present them as very personal stories. This makes the book a pleasure to read, even if some of the contributions are more to the point than others.

Because of this heterogeneity, it is not possible to do the book justice with a summary. The richness of the collection allows different readers to have diverse preferences regarding the content. I will, therefore, give a few examples of articles I personally appreciated: Peter Lunefeld's preface is intelligently written; it encourages a deeper involvement in the design process and also discloses the complexity of the field with historical and contemporary examples. Lisa Grocott's contribution "Speculation, Serendipity and Studio Anybody" describes in a very encouraging way a discovery-led process and its remarkable outcomes. Contrary to Grocott's methodology, which may not be applied in a one-to-one fashion, BJ Fogg offers a proven method in his contribution "Conceptual Designs: The Fastest Way to Capture and Share Your Idea." It is "a formula he has evolved over the years" (p. 202) consisting of twelve elements, which he demonstrates convincingly with an example. Brenda Laurel's interview with Will Wright about SimSmart conveys a good sense of the different kinds of personal involvement of Wright as the designer of the Sims and the different methods he and his team used for testing the game.

There are two things to criticize. The color coding of the different sections actually is very helpful, and therefore I find it confusing that the colored pages visible...