Types of Design Research in Netflix’s Abstract Series: For, About, and Through Design
Abstract: The Art of Design, a Netflix documentary series released in 2017, showcases the work of designers across various fields, such as typography, fashion, digital products, and photography. From a Design Research perspective, the Abstract presents the three types of design research in each episode.
Defining Design Research
Design research aims to make design more effective and efficient by formulating and validating models and theories about design as a discipline. The primary goal is to build support for the design process, including tools, frameworks, case studies, demographic research, and other resources. Designers often use research methods, like ethnographic studies, interviews, and economic data, to understand user needs objectively.
“Generating knowledge about design and for design”
(Horváth 2001).
Types of Design Research
In 1993, Christopher Frayling, in his book Research in Art and Design, proposed a taxonomy for design research with three main approaches varying according to the object of study.
- Research About Design: This research focuses on understanding design as a discipline, studying it from psychological, demographic, historical, and other perspectives. The object of study is the design itself. Abstract exemplifies this through its historical and contextual research on featured designers. Research about design is common in related fields like history, psychology, and engineering, but less so among designers. Philip J. Cash emphasizes the importance of understanding the theoretical foundation of design before starting design research in his work Developing Theory Driven Design Research.
- Research For Design: The most common type of design research, focuses on the design problem. Its goal is to understand a need that can be addressed through design artifacts. Most episodes of Abstract showcase this type, especially Season 2, Episode 6, which features Jonathan Hoefler, an American typeface designer. Hoefler’s work is valuable across various design disciplines, as his typefaces undergo thorough research to meet specific needs and serve as resources for other designers. This type of research often lacks scientific rigor and is usually presented in design portfolios.
- Research Through Design: Primarily used in academic contexts, this type involves analyzing various case studies with design support as the object of study. This support includes tools and resources used in the design process. Neri Oxman exemplifies this in Season 2, Episode 2, where she showcases her research through designing materials, forms, and processes. The outcome of this research improves the sustainability of architectural structures, furniture, and clothing, featuring high scientific rigor and relevance to design. Research through design must be replicable and teachable, making it in postgraduate design programs.
Different authors classify types of design research in various ways. This article is based on Lois Frankel and Martine Racine’s work The Complex Field of Research: For Design, Through Design, and About Design.
Another perspective, proposed by Findelli (2008), categorizes research according to its relevance to design and scientific rigor.
Highly relevant and rigorous research falls under “through design,” highly relevant but less rigorous research is “for design,” and thorough but less relevant research is “about design.” Generic contributions outside of design, like more artistic products, are excluded. This taxonomy is subjective and context-dependent.
Discussion and Conclusions
Design as a discipline is currently striving to improve its research methods. Designers need a stronger theoretical foundation for research and design proposals (Cash, P., 2018). The Design Research framework, classifying design contributions, offers a holistic view of design work, integrating academic and commercial design applications. The Abstract demonstrates this researcher-designer symbiosis throughout its episodes.
Designers should adopt research methodologies to guide their design process, recognizing that adding value for users and achieving innovative solutions requires a robust research framework. Abstract encourages reflection on our roles as designers: Are we contributing to design through our projects, for design, or studying the practice of design?
“Research is seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what nobody else has thought.”
— Albert Szent-Gyorgyi.
Replace “research” with “design” in this quote, and it remains relevant.}
References
Blessing, L. T. M., & Chakrabarti, A. (2009). DRM, a design research methodology. In DRM, a Design Research Methodology. Springer London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-587-1
Cash, P. J. (2018). Developing theory-driven design research. Design Studies, 56, 84–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2018.03.002
Cash, P. (2020). Where next for design research? Understanding research impact and theory building. Design Studies, 68, 113–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2020.03.001
Frankel, L., & Racine, M. (n.d.). The Complex Field of Research: for Design, through Design, and about Design A Short History of Design Research.
Christensen, B. T., & Ball, L. J. (2019). Building a discipline: Indicators of expansion, integration and consolidation in design research across four decades. Design Studies, 65, 18–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2019.10.001
Abstract (2017) Netflix Netflix
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