Breaking out of the academy: case studies in the impact of academic design research

As a relatively new field of scholarship, design research now confidently defines itself through distinctive academic journals, conferences and associations/societies. However, there is a tendency for the outcomes of academic design research to focus on academic endeavour, such as ways to support teaching and theoretical approaches to designing and design knowledge. This paper explores an alternative position in which the outcomes beyond the academy by making direct contributions to design practice, design innovation, design regulation, design guidelines and design technology. Whilst academic outputs inevitably result in journal publication, the most significant impact of the case studies discussed in the paper can best be described as 'non-academic' in the form of: a high visibility livery for emergency vehicles that has been adopted in the UK and beyond (design guidelines); an award-winning design tool for the Industrial Designers Society of America to standardise the language used for design representations to facilitate understanding and collaboration (design practice); an automatic braking system to reduce motorcycle traffic accidents (design technology); clothing for Great Britain’s Olympic Cycling Track Team to negate the pre-race drop in muscle temperature to enhance performance (design innovation); revisions to a United Nations regulation to increase cyclist visibility when using the rear view mirrors on large goods vehicles (design regulation).The paper concludes that the rigour, specialist in-depth knowledge and ability to view real-world problems with a fresh pair of eyes enables academic design research to have significant and far-reaching impact beyond academia