Design Research: Methods and Perspectives

by Brenda Laurel, Editor
The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2003
336 pp., illus. Trade, $39.95
ISBN: 0-262-12263-4.

Reviewed by Maia Engeli
Planetary Collegium,, University of Plymouth, UK
University of Art+Design Basel, Switzerland

maia@enge.li

"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" (p.316). These quotes from Brenda Laurel’s conclusions point out very precisely the book’s aim. What do you have to know in a design process? How do 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).

To me the title of the book was a bit misleading. Because of my personal, mostly academic background, I expected a book on academic design research, whereas it is about investigations as part of design practice. But, once I understood the focus–which is most clearly pointed out in the conclusions–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, Experiential, etc. This table is extremely valuable for getting an overview and helping to choose single articles for serendipitous reading. The other kind of cross-reference can be found within the texts as a specially coloured 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 non-linear fashion.

Design Research is an edited book and very heterogeneous. One thing the contributions have in common is that the authors talk about first-hand 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 at deeper involvement in the design process and also discloses the complexity of the field with historic 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 Lisa’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 Will as the designer of the Sims and different methods he and his team used for testing the game.

There are two things to criticise. The colour coding of the different sections is actually very helpful, and I find it, therefore, confusing that the coloured pages visible on the outside lead you to the ‘Demos’ somewhere in the middle of the sections. The second criticism concerns the many spelling and grammar mistakes; I’ve noticed 20 in the second half of the book.

All in all I can recommend this book to design practitioners, who are interested in different possibilities and new approaches to improving the design process through research. It is a rich book and addresses numerous issues from different perspectives. The many contributions are compiled into a meaningful collection through the overall structuring into the four sections and the inclusion of different cross-references. This turns the heterogeneity into an interesting quality; it allows the presentation of different points of view within a graspable framework.