Tim Tompson
Design Led Tuesdays: Developing deep insights for innovation through design researchTim Tompson
Business Designer
PhD Candidate, Built Environment
UNSW
@timtompson
Tim Tompson
Three roles:•PhD Researcher (UNSW)•Lecturer/Tutor (UTS/UNSW)•Business Designer
Tim Tompson
“Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose.”
Charles Eames
?
?
??PROJECT PURPOSE
?
??
Tim Tompson
“The great challenge for designers is to move from designing things (objects) to designing Things (socio-material assemblages)”
Bjögvinsson, E., Ehn, P. & Hillgren, P.-A., 2012, Design things and
design thinking: contemporary participatory design challenges,
Design Issues, 28(3), pp. 101-16
Tim Tompson
Tim Tompson
Design Research
Design (verb)
Design (noun) thing/Things
+ + +
methods to better determine nature of elements
Research design + +arranging methods to fit context and research purpose
arranging elements to achieve particular purpose
Tim Tompson
USER CENTRED DESIGN
CRITICALDESIGN EMOTIONAL
DESIGN
DESIGN LED
RESEARCH LED
EX
PER
T M
IND
SET
PAR
TIC
IPATO
RY
MIN
DS
ET
PARTICIPATORYDESIGN
GENERATIVEDESIGN RESEARCH
Adapted from Sanders, E.B.-N. & Stappers, P.J., 2012, Convivial toolbox:
Generative research for the front end of design, BIS, pp19
Tim Tompson
Tim Tompson
?
Tim Tompson
??
?
??
RESEARCH PURPOSE:Better determine the nature of constituent elements to better inform design project
Tim Tompson
?
RESEARCH PURPOSE:Better determine the nature of element
+ +
Tim TompsonImage: Skedgo
Tim Tompson
PROJECT PURPOSE:Design a bus shelter(thing)
Tim Tompson
Tim Tompson
?
? ??
PROJECT PURPOSE:Determine why bus shelters are as they are(processes/Things)
Tim Tompson
?
? ??
PROJECTPURPOSE:Determine why bus shelters are as they are(processes/Things)
+ +
RESEARCH PURPOSE:Better determine the nature of element to inform project purpose
Tim TompsonImage: Skedgo
Tim Tompson
Tim Tompson
PROJECT PURPOSE:Design a transport app(thing)
Tim Tompson
?
? ??
PROJECT PURPOSE:Determine why transport apps are as they are(processes/Things)
Tim Tompson
?
? ??
PROJECT PURPOSE:Determine why transport apps are as they are(processes/Things)
+ +
RESEARCH PURPOSE:Better determine the nature of element
Tim Tompson
Inquiry: “the controlled or directed transformation of an indeterminate situation into one that is so determinate in its constituent distinctions and relations as to convert the elements of the original situation into a unified whole.”
Dewey, J., 1938, Logic: The theory of inquiry, Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
New York, pp104-105
Tim Tompson
Visualisationof Sydney’s real-time application development
More determinate situation
Tim Tompson
Tim Tompson
•Design Research can give adequate (good enough) understanding of a specific situation to inform design
•Design research can be used to support any phase of the design process
•All research has bias•No research is ever ‘complete’
