Julian Malins - Böcker

Visualizing Research guides postgraduate students in art and design through the development and implementation of a research project, using the metaphor of a 'journey of exploration'. For use with a formal programme of study, from masters to doctoral level, the book derives from the creative relationship between research, practice and teaching in art and design. It extends generic research processes into practice-based approaches more relevant to artists and designers, introducing wherever possible visual, interactive and collaborative methods. The Introduction and Chapter 1 'Planning the Journey' define the concept and value of 'practice-based' formal research, tracking the debate around its development and explaining key concepts and terminology. ’Mapping the Terrain’ then describes methods of contextualizing research in art and design (the contextual review, using reference material); ’Locating Your Position’ and ’Crossing the Terrain’ guide the reader through the stages of identifying an appropriate research question and methodological approach, writing the proposal and managing research information. Methods of evaluation and analysis are explored, and of strategies for reporting and communicating research findings are suggested. Appendices and a glossary are also included. Visualizing Research draws on the experience of researchers in different contexts and includes case studies of real projects. Although written primarily for postgraduate students, research supervisors, managers and academic staff in art and design and related areas, such as architecture and media studies, will find this a valuable research reference. An accompanying website www.visualizingresearch.info includes multimedia and other resources that complement the book.

This book presents a number of new methods, tools, and approaches aimed to assist researchers and designers during the early stages of the design process, focusing on the need to approach the development of new interactive products, systems and related services by closely observing the needs of potential end-users through adopting a design thinking approach.A wide range of design approaches are explored, some emphasizing on the physicality of interaction and the products designed, others exploring interactive design and the emerging user experience (UX) with a focus on the value to the end-user. Contemporary design processes and the role of software tools to support design are also discussed. The researchers draw their expertise from a wide range of fields and it is this interdisciplinary approach which provides a unique perspective resulting in a flexible collection of methods that can be applied to a wide range of design contexts.Interaction and UX designers andproduct design specialists will all find Collaboration in Creative Design an essential read.