This paper introduces and discusses a Rich Research Space as an inclusive methodological framework and scaffold for research-by-design. The Rich Research Space especially addresses the issue of richness in design processes and design-led research. There is a general trend towards increased complexity in design processes, caused on one hand by the increasing depth and width in the use of design media and methods, and on the other hand by the increasing complexity and interdependency of society due to globalisation. These issues confront the designer-researcher with new challenges. This paper formulates a research strategy for research-by-design in fields that have a high degree of richness in the use of media, the amount of information, and the methods involved. The Rich Research Space concept proposed takes into account the physical, social, and cultural spaces, and the virtual and visual media spaces in which the research-by-design takes place. The concept takes the form of a specific integral approach to design, and a holistic theoretical mindset. It embraces many types of investigation, from analytical to intuitive. The Rich Research Space provides a flexible framework within which the complexity of research-by-design can be interrelated, discussed, and reflected upon. Potentially, it can create a more involved role for the designerresearcher, a role that allows contributions towards the resolution of ever more pressing issues in our society. This approach is currently one of a limited number of possible frameworks that the design professions can utilize in order to make a difference in a world of at times overwhelming complexity. The concept of the Rich Research Space is discussed with reference to an art installation called Barely.
The main approach of this paper is to look at design research from a systems-oriented perspective. This implies that design research is understood as a dynamic and emergent field of interrelated or contradicting thoughts, concepts and ideas. The first three sections of this paper draw cross-sections into the emerging richness in design research as it matures as a genuine mode of knowledge production. They address some of the positions, concepts, and discussions going on in the field, arguing that practice research in design is the most central. The current state is discussed and the relation between design research and other modes of knowledge production are looked at. A main tendency seems to be that design research is moving towards greater complexity both in issues and approaches and that Research by Design is becoming ever more central. Research by Design emphasizes insider perspectives, a generative approach, operates in rich and multiple layers and relates to real life contexts. The output is new communicable knowledge that is only found within design practice. The next two sections of the paper discuss the various possible relations between design practice and reflection. These span from distant perspectives where design practice is observed by outsider researchers, looking at practice retrospectively or contemporarily as in case studies, to participatory research and insider perspectives where the designer-researcher uses his or her own practice as a means for investigation and a bases and subject for reflection and knowledge production. The last section proposes the critical application of multiple perspectives, methods and media in composite approaches to design research. This analysis does not claim to provide a complete picture, but it suggests a method of looking at the field of design research in both a more holistic and more specific way. This could be helpful to position the individual design researchers approach in the complex landscape of design research. Arguing that ‘traditional sciences’ are very complex and manifold, design research is in itself a very complex, if not one of the most complex field of knowledge production. The paper claims that such a complexity demands an equally rich repertoire of interrelated methods and positions.
This book addresses one of the most pressing issues of our time: How can we design for, with, and in service of the complex world we live in? How can we be useful as designers in a rapidly changing world due to technological, political, and social processes, as well as climate change and nature destruction? Designers have some beneficial skills for planning with complex systems in mind, yet some old habits need to be overcome. Design's traditional purpose and role has been to solve problems, find order, organize, and simplify. Yet, the concept of designing complexity goes against these established beliefs because complexity cannot be designed away. So, instead, we present ways to live with, influence, and benefit from complex systems. There is no one "right" way presented in this book. Instead, many experiences, approaches, and perspectives are collected and presented. The process this book offers is a methodology called Systems Oriented Design (SOD). SOD is a design methodology and practice primarily geared toward understanding and working with complex systems. Several systems theories influence it, yet it remains true to its origin, the core of designing. SOD is a living and adaptable methodology. Though it is based on design thinking and design methodology, it is easily adapted and applied by anybody working with complex change processes.
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