Using Interdisciplinary and Active Research to Encourage Higher Resolution Research and Prototyping in Design

University art and design programs are branching out and creating interdisciplinary programs and research centers that connect design students and faculty across various disciplines such as business, engineering, architecture, information studies, health sciences and education.<br><br> A human-centered, problem-based approach to design research looks to position industry and academic leaders to work alongside students, community leaders, artists and non-profits to develop creative and innovative solutions to the challenges facing contemporary society. But product design benefits even more from practices that engage users throughout the entire design process, often called participatory design. Participatory design process utilizes user feedback throughout the design process to spur innovation and improve design quality.<br><br> It is possible in the classroom to engage in participatory design and participatory prototyping through the use of inexpensive 3D printers and laser cutters as well as traditional hand tools, requiring only mastery of a few simple techniques and technology readily available on laptop computers. The class research being presented was conceived as part of a new interdisciplinary classroom research space call the Digital Craft Research Lab (DCRL) housed within the department of Art and Design. Courses taught within the DCRL offer students, researchers and faculty continual access to both low resolution and high-resolution prototyping machinery and materials.<br><br> This paper looks at the role of action and participatory research in a design course that created printed hand innovations in collaboration with a nine-year-old female user. Students were asked to work on modeling new designs as well as capturing the progress in a final open source book and models.<br><br> This paper asks the question can the use of classroom collaboration, action research and work spaces encourage creativity, innovation, and critical thinking in student and professional designers