Cultural Probes

Design+Emotion

Generative Tools

Co-Creation

User-Centered Design

Expert Mindset “users” seen as subjects (reactive informers)

People-Centered Innovation

Contexual Inquiry

Usability Testing

Lead-User Innovation

Participatory Design

Participatory
Mindset
“users” seen
as partners
(active co-creators)

Human Factors + Ergonomics

Applied
Ethnography

Research-Led

• Figure 4. People-Centered Innovation Overlayed on Map of Design Research

[ 7] Jones, Peter.
“Design Dialogues”
http://dialogicdesign.
wordpress.com
[ 8] Barrett, J. “The
Hybrid Designer.”
Master’s thesis, Emily
Carr Institute of Art and
Design, 2008.
[ 9] Barrett, J. Personal
communication. July
14, 2008
[ 10] Kirah, A. “Methods
or Mindset? Issues of
Concern in Designing
for a Global World with
the Goal to Improve
Lives,” Powerpoint pre-
sentation. <http://www.
indexaward.dk/content/
image.asp?id=2684&
download=true&lcid
=1030>
[ 11] Brandt, E. and J.
Messeter. “Facilitating
collaboration through
design games.” Working
paper, Participatory
Design Conference
2004, Toronto, Canada,
2004.
[ 12] Mattelmaki, Tuuli.
“Design Probes.” Ph.D.
diss., University of Art
and Design Helsinki,
2006.
[ 13] Raijmakers, B.,
W. W. Gaver, and J.
Bishay. “Design docu-
mentaries: Inspiring
design research through
documentary film.”
In the Proceedings of
the 6th conference on
Designing Interactive
Systems, 229-238, New
York: ACM Press, 2006.

map as a framework for writing proposals and workplans. It can also be used to explain to clients (as well as team members from other disciplines) why a variety of research approaches are needed to address different points along the design development process. On a more strategic side, I am currently using the design research map as a landscape in which to position changes taking place on the competitive front and as a framework for future scenario development.

For example, by looking at changes in activity on the map over time, you can see where design research is heading and how fast it is getting there. This long view can be very useful in making strategic business decisions.

How Have Others Used the Map?

The map was originally offered as a scaffold to support conversation and to spark future thinking and doing. It was presented as a collage that is still taking shape. I invited readers to contribute additional dimensions, layers, zones, clusters and bubbles [ 1]. (See Figure 3.)

A few people have taken me up on that offer. Peter Jones, managing principal at Redesign Research, Inc., used the map to position his primary area of expertise called Dialogic Design. This adds new content to the map and enriches it tremendously.

“Design Dialogues imagines the possibilities of
design as a transformative revisioning of systems
that matter. We require new tools of design think-
ing and social engagement to energize the wisdom

of participants. Dialogue is between perspectives, around a multi-perspective design canvas of products, systems, organizations and societies. In a world of complex, wicked problems, design has many cultural instruments, of dialogue, arts, research, and action [ 7].”

Jaime Barrett, a recent MAA in design graduate from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, found the map to be useful in helping her find her way on the thesis journey [ 8]. “When Liz presented her cognitive map at Emily Carr Institute, I became acutely aware of the spaces where designers and researchers could learn from one another. It was astounding to see the work Liz has done to show just how different disciplines overlap. Liz painted a larger picture for me that day: I had always wondered if many different disciplines and fields actually do the same thing, but we all just call it something different. This inspired me to actually see myself and my work as sitting in both fields of research and a design; and it has especially allowed me to feel as if I could contribute and make a difference. Even just knowing that there are others out there with similar interests has inspired me to continue looking for new and interesting ways to contribute from a design perspective. And all of this came from such a small little map [ 9].” (See Figure 4.)

Anne Kirah, a consultant in People Centered Concept Making, on the other hand, adds no new content to the map. She modifies it to serve her needs, i.e., to reflect her own perspective and perhaps that of a European audience. (From a pre-