ple, is rarely part of a designers’ tool kit), designers lifted many techniques from marketing or worked with marketing in a new form of relationship. But did that bridge prevent design research from coming into its own? Many design efforts are funded through marketing, encouraging polite interrelationships (in which marketing needs to understand or approve every design move)— with the unfortunate consequence that this may be slowing the evolution of design research.

January + February 2010

interactions

Three Basic Rules

What separates design research from marketing research is a core but elusive principle: There is a phenomenal distinction between evaluating a product before it is finalized, the focus of design research, and evaluating consumer response after a product is finalized. Logics and statistical methods used in studies can be misapplied—often by prestigious (and expensive) marketing consultants. They affect even seemingly simple questions that, while appropriate for finished products, can be completely inappropriate for products under development. While many, many differences exist, here are three rules outlin-ing basic things to avoid:

1. Never ask people which one they like best. While this is probably the most often asked question in marketing and design, it’s a faulty question. Not simply because it’s closed-ended. Putting two or more items in front of someone and asking “Which one do you like the best” can yield a meaningless response.

Surprising? Here’s why. Put
three shapes in front of 100
people—a circle, a hexagon,
and an oval—and ask them to
choose the one they like best. The
results: The circle gets 28 percent
of the votes, the hexagon get 40
percent, and the oval gets 32 per-
cent. Go with the hexagon, right?