Designer-centred design research

This paper demonstrates how a reworked conceptualization of method takes into account the designers’ goals as well as the nature of their activity. In that, the paper seeks to make a conceptual step in how we as design researchers approach and influence what designers do in their practice. This paper presents careful observation of and intervention into design activities as an essential link between design research and practice. In this, it reconceptualises what is now known as method as part of the design activity. Because of the expectations that have become attached to the term method, we choose to develop and provide techniques to designers instead of methods. By not only focusing on the process of the technique, but also the way that designers can take it up in terms of its fit with their knowledge, flexibility, experience and learnability, as well as the way designers can use to support their goals and communication, we make a new kind of contribution as design researchers to design practice. The ‘designer-centred’ development of techniques creates a new and essential link between design research and design practice