Research for Designers

Today, designers design services, processes and organizations; craft skills no longer suffice. We need to discover, define and solve problems based upon evidence. We need to demonstrate the validity of our claims. We need design research, but as a special kind of research, with methods appropriate to the applied, constructive nature of design. We need a book on research for designers that can educate students and be a reference for professionals. And here it is: Gjoko Muratovski’s masterful book for 21st century designers. -- Don Norman Design can be a powerful tool for social, economic, and cultural change. It can serve as a guide to grow economic and industrial success, along with breaking down long-term social norms and cultural barriers. This book provides a great learning reference on the basics of research. It is well written, easy to understand, and provides guidance on research methodology which can be very valuable to all researchers, and not only those specifically in the design profession. Along with a well-organized approach to research, Muratovski also encourages crossdisciplinary partnerships and highlights the importance of data. Both of these are essential to learning, analysing, and developing design solutions which can contribute to improvements in quality of life. -- David Kusuma Inspiring and engaging. Gjoko Muratovski gives us a visionary preview on the future of design. He argues that design is transforming from ‘problem-solving’ to ‘problem-finding’ – something every company, from startups to multinationals, needs in today’s hyper-connected and fast-changing world. Muratovski provides the context and more importantly, the implications of the rise of design as a powerful competitive advantage. If you want to know more about the role of design in the past, present and where design is headed, start here. If you’ve ever wanted to become a ‘design-driven’ company, read this book. -- David R. Butler Today, as designers, we are exploring a new vision; a vision that seeks to apply creativity to challenges of our age, namely digital technology and information. The designer of today is involved with designing experiences, not just looks and appearances. Gjoko Muratovski’s Research for Designers gives the reader a pair of wings to transcend limitation and do original work. -- Suresh Sethi Research for Designers clearly explains how effective cross-disciplinary discovery and delivery of strategic solutions to complex problems needs to begin with targeted and credible research of the problem area, the ecosystem, the context, and the stakeholders involved. While the book provides a great overview for designers that are interested in learning about research methods and how to use them, the book is also useful to strategists and decision-makers as it can expand their problem-solving toolkit to incorporate design research and practice in the pursuit of new, original and better outcomes. This is an excellent resource for both students and developing design practitioners. -- Jane Treadwell Gjoko Muratovski has written the definitive compendium that not only covers ‘how’ to best conduct design research but ‘why’ it is such a vital ingredient to success. Although intended for design students, I believe Muratovski’s manual offers a far broader appeal. Strategists, business leaders, policy makers, anyone who wants to enhance and advance their research proficiency to achieve a better outcome should read this book. I know I’ll be sharing copies with my colleagues. -- Maureen Thurston Research for Designers is a welcome contribution to the world of design academia as it discusses methods for carrying out systematic design research. This book allows the reader to choose methods for design research according to different types of design problems and not only for the different stages of the design process. In this respect, this will be useful not only to postgraduate students and academics engaged in serious design research, but also to practicing designers dealing with large-scale, complex and cross-disciplinary design problems. -- Kun-Pyo Lee Design’s importance in social, cultural and economic terms has never been greater. So, it’s a surprise that the design research community has waited so long for an authoritative and comprehensive handbook on research methods which further our understanding and knowledge of the process of designing. Research for Designers fills this gap in the literature. There’s no doubt it will become a seminal reference for those seeking to undertake research in the field. -- Seymour Roworth-Stokes Research for Designers explores design research based on a panorama of the evolution of design. It is a useful book for designers, educators and researchers. It is also a meaningful book, as it opens the window for enriching and improving the rationalities between design and a possible better world. While facing a new era of design activism, a new culture of knowledge creation should be involved as part of the agenda. Gjoko Muratovski’s work makes a concrete step forward. -- Yongqi Lou Flexible production technology and new business models enable companies to make almost anything. The unintended consequences include consumers confused by too many choices and managers not knowing what to make. Design offers new ways for executives to understand and fulfil people’s needs and aspirations; however, the informality of design knowledge prevents design operating at the speed and scale that is needed. Research for Designers is a major contribution to giving structure to design knowledge. This book will help companies succeed by helping people have better lives. -- Patrick Whitney Gjoko Muratovski’s Research for Designers provides a structured approach to introducing design students and new researchers to design research. Designers embarking on research have often found it to be challenging to find books that are able to provide them with the necessary advice and guidance for success. This book helps to overcome this challenge by taking the reader through the research process from defining the research problem through to the literature review on to data collection and analysis. With such practical and useful chapters this book should prove to be essential reading in design schools across the world. -- Tracy Bhamra With Research for Designers, Gjoko Muratovski has put together a highly valuable resource for designers who want to better understand how to do design research. Designers, but also those who teach designers, will find these resources extraordinary useful. -- Erik Stolterman A brilliantly written and wonderfully comprehensive book on the wide array of research methods available that can, ultimately, help us design a better world. As companies, organizations and even governments turn to designers to solve a wide range of problems, a more evidence-based approach to design will certainly be in design’s future. This book is an invaluable contribution to that effort. Appropriate for students and professional designers alike, Gjoko Muratovski’s Research for Designers should be required reading for anyone creating anything! -- Dan Formosa In Research for Designers, Gjoko Muratovski provides a comprehensive and insightful guidance to designers on how to find answers to well-articulated design related questions, in a methodical and systematic way. Given that the design field have suffered a lack of well-grounded literature on research methods and research methodology this book is a welcome contribution and fills a gap for everyone that aims to approach the field in a methodologically proper way. This book is an excellent contribution to the knowing of ‘how’ to do design research – a knowledge critical not only for researchers but for everyone operating in the design field. With Research for Designers, Gjoko Muratovski makes a long-awaited contribution to the professionalization of the design field. -- Göran Roos In Research for Designers, Gjoko Muratovski provides a comprehensive and insightful guidance to designers on how to find answers to well-articulated design related questions, in a methodical and systematic way. Given that the design field have suffered a lack of well-grounded literature on research methods and research methodology this book is a welcome contribution and fills a gap for everyone that aims to approach the field in a methodologically proper way. This book is an excellent contribution to the knowing of ‘how’ to do design research – a knowledge critical not only for researchers but for everyone operating in the design field. With Research for Designers, Gjoko Muratovski makes a long-awaited contribution to the professionalization of the design field. -- Göran Roos The need for conducting rigorous knowledge-based inquiry is a central theme of this very timely and relevant book by Gjoko Muratovski. Research for Designers is an extremely valuable ‘how to’ book that arms designers with practical knowledge on how to conduct and communicate research in order to create even greater value from the work that they currently do. -- Swee Mak Research for Designers is a highly valuable book for anyone who engages with the design process, regardless of whether they are designers, engineers or business developers. This book introduces research with a strong practical focus, and it lays down the foundations for developing an entire R&D process, even for large-scale, long-term projects – which makes it incredibly useful to both design and business leaders. -- Kalevi Ekman Designers aiming to change the world are always in pursuit of new approaches that can help them realize their potential, even if they are already strongly motivated creative people. This search is a driving force that leads them to become deeper thinkers, and this is also what drives them to learn new things. So far, they had to do with basic research in order to understand complex problems, namely looking within the field of design itself, while this book shows them how to find knowledge that lies outside the field. Wonderfully written, each well-structured chapter of the book encourages designers to develop their own knowledge from the ground up. -- Yukari Nagai Muratovski’s clear, methodical coverage of the major approaches to research provides the succinct introduction and on-going practical resource that every undergraduate, graduate, or practicing designer might need to begin contributing, themselves, to the next stage of the field’s development. Armed with the lessons contained in this practical guide, they will not only make further contributions to the marketing bonanza and paradigm shift in corporate leadership already underway, they will help move design from problem finding to problem predicting and also, it seems, teach us much about what it means to be human in a world of ever accelerating technological change. -- Branden Thornhill-Miller Research for Designers works well to illuminate for Master’s and Doctoral level students how and why important shifts in design are taking place around the world from ‘product creation’ to ‘process creation’ and from ‘a field of practice’ to a ‘field of thinking and research’. In course development and lecturing on design at universities such as Stanford, St. Petersburg Polytechnic, Borås, Aalto and Tongji, I have until now been searching for good new books of this kind. One down. -- Antti Ainamo Gjoko Muratovski makes an excellent case for how design research can help move design practice and education to the next level. Society has a growing need for comprehensive design thinking and his book, Research for Designers, makes the subject easy to understand for novices and also serves as an excellent reference and inspiration for experts. -- Søren Petersen