Design Mindsets that Help Me Navigating in Research Work
I was a full-time graphic designer and research was something I was not prominent or learned deeper. However, I have grown some interest in the concept of research years back when I studied industrial design. When the Research subject was introduced at school, my first impression was a very theoretical and structured way of thinking in contrast to design practice.
“I would love to be able to research and gain insights before designing things, but it seems hard to follow all the methods rigorously. I get bored easily when reading wordy articles and being a researcher feels like you need to dig lots of data by reading and keeping up to date.”
This mindset has been lingering and keeping away from me actually to jump and practice aside from university projects. After being exposed to several research works, I finally formed some mindsets that help me to navigate holistically better. Having a design background can be a bonus point for being a researcher. Here are some reciprocal design mindsets that can enhance our research skills.
What-if Exploration
I remembered the practice of designing 50 different styles of 1 logo design back in the academy. It is imprinted in our design DNA to always explore before being satisfied with the final one. This mindset can be applied in conducting research. From formulating research questions and objectives to generating insights and reporting, designing the most impactful “sentences” based on our findings need more than a one-time formulation. There are no rights or wrongs the same way when we explore visuals, iteration and exploration until we feel satisfied.
Layout Design Strategy
In design layout principles, we need to construct all the elements (text, images, design components) into a balanced and unity composition of content. This strategy helps design the storytelling format and deliver the research purpose to be easily digested by the audience. Instead of focusing on visuals, we look at data and context based on our findings. Visualize any contrast between the goals and what is happening out there. We can draw patterns based on users’ pain points and wishes. Presenting research data into one comprehensive story is one of the tasks of a researcher.
Create Consistency
Consistency is one of the most important rules in design as much as in exploratory research. It is hard to measure sometimes to what extent and where to direct the research further in the process. That is why going back to our research objectives and always persisting back to the root causes as the foundation, like in the design process we called it creating a design system. Stitch back all the data we have found to the objectives, hypothesis, and stakeholders’ vision.
Keep Finding Inspirations
It is more than staying up-to-date and reading a lot. Designers like to use creativity and oftentimes find inspiration everywhere. Picturing a “solution” is not a crime in the process, certainly helps in the research process to collect initial assumptions and validations in field research. Finding inspirations outside the context or designing a mixed research method more tactile than just verbal can be more engaging. Away from all the research jargon, it is best to focus on exploring and trying it out.
Eventually, It is Likewise “Subjective”
Design is sometimes challenging as it is very subjective. In the end, I felt similar to qualitative research projects when I have to use my leap of faith to connect from one to other findings. The research insights might be inspired not in a literal way but based on your judgments after getting immersed in the data. In fact, whether we try adding design elements or leaving a white space can make more sense in our eyes, doing research is hence subjective too.
Despite all the theories and methods to learn, being a researcher is a skill training process the same way we train our eyes to be designers. Ultimately, I need to spark joy and fun in learning research since it complements design fundamentals and is easier to connect the dots now. These are my personal perspective coming from a design background. I would love to hear others’ perspectives, so do not hesitate to comment or reach out to me if you want to share yours.
