The document discusses the relationship between design practice and design research. It notes there is often a gap between theory and practice in design. Some key points discussed include: - Traditional PhD models may not fully support design practice-based research - Design research could benefit from a more integrated interplay between practice and reflection like in other fields - Design projects may contribute new knowledge and insights similar to experiments in other disciplines if properly structured and analyzed It provides examples of practice-based design PhD theses and hypothesizes that design projects could provide insights like experiments if approached from multiple perspectives rather than just hypothesis testing.

1. Luzern
Gebäudetechnik
Dr. Daniel Müller
Leiter Weiterbildung
T direkt +41 41 349 34 93
daniel.mueller@hslu.ch
Oktober 3, 2013
The
interplay
of
design
prac3ce
and
design
research
Dr. Dagmar Steffen
Research Fellow/ Lecturer
T direct +41 41 248 61 74
dagmar.steffen@hslu.ch
DeSForM 2013 - Seminar „Design for Research“
Jiangnan University Wuxi

2. Folie
2, Oktober 3, 2013
Problem
• gap
between
“theory“
and
“prac0ce”
in
design
theory
prac3ce

3. Folie
3, Oktober 3, 2013
Problem
“…
the
design
culture
…
did
not
form
through
an
ongoing
interplay
of
prac0ce
and
detached
reflec0on.”
Richard
Buchanan,
1990
“…
a
tense
rela0on
between
theory
and
praxis”:
theory
that
fulfilled
its
role
as
delighDul
aEer-­‐dinner
conversa0on,
…
with
very
liHle
use
value
or
exchange
value
for
prac00oners.
Gui
Bonsiepe,
1997

4. Folie 4, Oktober 3, 2013
The
tradi0onal
PhD

5. Folie
5, Oktober 3, 2013
Doctoral
disserta3on
instruc3ons,
Aalto
University
“In
the
field
of
art
and
design,
a
disserta0on
can
also
include
an
art
produc0on,
a
series
of
art
produc0ons
meaningfully
connected
to
each
other,
or
a
product
development
project.
A
wriHen
thesis
forming
a
part
of
the
disserta0on
has
to
be
in
a
dialogic
and
analy0c
rela0on
to
the
art
produc0ons
or
product
development
project
...
“

6. Folie
6, Oktober 3, 2013
Doctoral
thesis
(Doctor
of
Arts)
at
the
Aalto
University
Ou0
Turpeinen
„A
Meaningful
Museum
Object.
Cri7cal
visuality
in
cultural
history
museum
exhibi7ons“ (2005)

7. Folie
7, Oktober 3, 2013
Doctoral
thesis
(Doctor
of
Arts)
at
the
Aalto
University
Nithikul
Nimkulrat
„Paperness.
Expressive
Material
in
Tex7le
Art
from
an
Ar7st's
Viewpoint“ (2009)

8. Folie 8, Oktober 3, 2013
Problem
“AEer
all,
physicist
researchers
do
physics,
chemist
researchers
do
chemistry
and
so
design
researchers
should
design.”
Owain
Pedgley,
n.d.
“…
under
certain
circumstances,
prac0ce
may
form
a
part
of
a
PhD
study
either
through
being
structured
as
a
method
for
collec0ng
data
systema0cally
or
as
a
means
to
allow
structured
reflec0on
upon
prac0ce
.”
David
Durling,
2002
Further
posi0ons

9. Folie
9, Oktober 3, 2013
Ques3ons
•
contribu0on
of
the
design
project
…
to
new
iii
knowledge
and
insight
?
•
role
of
the
objects
or
the
doing
&
making
in
iiischolarly
research
(not
ar0s0c
research)
?
•
rela0on
between
theory
and
prac0ce
?

10. Folie 10
„design-oriented ≠ „research-oriented
research“ design“
(Fällman 2004)
“Designing
for
research”
Fällman,
Daniel
In
Romance
with
the
Materials
of
Mobile
lnterac7on
Disserta0on
Umea
University
2004.

11. Folie
11, Oktober 3, 2013
Hypothesis
•
design
project
resp.
the
doing
&
making
in
iiidesign-­‐oriented
research
has
similari0es
to
iiiexperiments
in
the
exact
sciences
…

12. Folie 12, Oktober 3, 2013
“Any
one-­‐sided
view
of
experiment
is
certainly
wrong.”
Ian
Hacking
Hacking,
Ian, Represen7ng
and
Intervening.
Introductory
Topics
in
the
Philosophy
of
Natural
Sciences.
Cambridge:
Cambridge
University
Press,
1983.

13. Folie 13, Oktober 3, 2013
“Any
one-­‐sided
view
of
experiment
is
certainly
wrong.”
-­‐
hypothesis-­‐
and
theory-­‐tes0ng
experiments
-­‐
induc0ve
approaches,
star0ng
with
a
remarkable
observa0on
-­‐ ‘happy
mee0ngs’
of
experiment
and
theory
-­‐
prac0cal
inven0ons,
that
gradually
lead
to
theore0cal
analysis
Ian
Hacking

14. Folie
14
“SMART
SEMANTICS:
Product
seman7cs
of
smart
clothes”
CC
Products
&
Tex0les,
HSLU
Case
example
1
Steffen,
Dagmar;
Adler
Francoise
&
Weber-­‐Marin,
Andrea
Designing
Smart
Clothes
for
the
User.
Product
Seman0cs
for
Smart
Clothes,
Swiss
Design
Network
Conference
(SDN)
Mul7ple
Ways,
Lugano,
2009
Adler,
Francoise;
Weber-­‐Marin,
Andrea
&
Steffen,
Dagmar
Smart
Seman0cs.
Product
Seman0cs
of
Smart
Clothes.
IASDR
Conference
Seoul,
2009.
.

15. FolieSmart Semantics"
crea3ve-­‐ar3s3c
level
func3onal surplus
Lifestyle, Fun
Sports/ Leisure
Lifestyle, Fun
Sports/
Wellness
Business
Healthcare
Fashion, Art
Healthcare
Lifestyle, Fun
Q1 Q2
Q3 Q4
Smart
Seman0cs
fashion

16. Folie
-­‐ hypothesis-­‐tes0ng
experiment
on
the
seman0c
expression
of
Smart
Clothes
-­‐ design
of
products
according
to
the
hypothesis
-­‐ focus
group
discussions
on
models
and
sketches
-­‐ analysis
of
the
data
-­‐ reassessment
of
the
hypothesis
and
conclusions
on
user
preferences

17. Folie 17
“Absorp7on
of
design
management
capabili7es
in
SMEs
with
liPle
or
no
prior
design
experience”
CC
Design
&
Management
Case
example
2
Acklin,
Claudia,
The
Absorp0on
of
Design
Management
Capabili0es
in
SMEs
with
LiHle
or
No
Prior
Design
Experience.
Making
Design
MaHer.
Nordes
Conference,
Helsinki,
2011
Acklin,
Claudia
&
Steffen,
Dagmar,
Designgetriebene
Innova7on.
Konzepte,
Methoden,
Fallbeispiele,
Tools
für
Prak7kerinnen
und
Prak7ker.
Interact,
Lucerne
2012.

18. Folie
18
Pelle0zing
plant,
Bioburn
AG
Delamina0on
plant,
Studer
Maschinenbau
Sidebord,
Alpnach
Norm
AG
Steam
shower,
Vaporsana
AG

19. Folie
Framework:
Learning
and
absorp7on
process
of
design
management
capabili7es
in
SMEs
step
1
step
2
step
3
step
4
step
5

20. Folie
Interplay
of
theory
and
prac3ce
20
D
E
S
I
G
N
P
R
O
J
E
C
T
H
Y
P
O
T
H
E
S
E
S,
T
H
E
O
R
YMäkelä,
Maarit,
Framing
a
prac0ce-­‐led
research
project,
in:
The
art
of
research,
Aalto
University
Helsinki
2006.

21. Folie
Gap
between
theory
and
prac3ce
21
D
E
S
I
G
N
P
R
O
J
E
C
T
H
Y
P
O
T
H
E
S
E
S,
T
H
E
O
R
Y
Exhibition 3
Exhibition 2
Exhibition 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 2
Chapter 1
Research
Question 2
Research
Question 1

22. Folie
22, Oktober 3, 2013
Hypothesis
•
design
project
resp.
the
doing
&
making
in
iiidesign-­‐oriented
research
has
similari0es
to
iiiexperiments
in
the
exact
sciences
…
…
but
also
profound
differences

23. Folie
Claim
of
validity
23
Artefacts:
•
„by
products“
of
scien0fic
research
iiii
à
object
has
an
instrumental
value
and/
or
•
„final
products“
of
design
work
iiii
iiii
à
object
in
its
own
right

24. Folie
Theses
• Prac0ce-­‐led
design
research
contributes
to
bridging
the
gap
between
theory
and
prac0ce
• Design
prac0ce
(i.e.
the
doing
and
making
and
/
or
the
artefact)
can
contribute
to
various
kinds
of
new
(scien0fic)
knowledge
and
insights
• Including
prac0cal
/
physical
doing
and
making
in
scien0fic
research
is
not
a
new
prac0ce
24, Oktober 3, 2013
Conclusions

25. Folie 25, Oktober 3, 2013
References
Mäkelä,
Maarit,
(2006)
Framing
a
prac0ce-­‐led
research
project,
in:Mäkelä,
Maarit
&
Routarinne,
Sara,
The
art
of
research,
Aalto
University
Helsinki.
Nithikul
Nimkulrat
(2009)
Paperness.
Expressive
Material
in
Tex7le
Art
from
an
Ar7st's
Viewpoint,
.
Doctoral
Disserta0on
Aalto
University,
Helsinki
.
Pedgley,
Owain
et
al.
(n.d.).The
framing
of
a
prac0ce-­‐based
Ph.D.
in
design.
Core
77
Research
Web
Page.
hHp://
www.core77.com/research/thesisresearch.html
Steffen,
Dagmar;
Adler
Francoise
&
Weber-­‐Marin,
Andrea
(2009)
Designing
Smart
Clothes
for
the
User.
Product
Seman0cs
for
Smart
Clothes,
Swiss
Design
Network
Conference
(SDN)
Mul7ple
Ways,
Lugano,.
Steffen,
Dagmar
(2012)
Praxisintegrierende
Designforschung
und
Theoriebildung,
Doctoral
Disserta0on
University
of
Wuppertal.
Steffen,
Dagmar
(2013)
Characteris0cs
and
interferences
of
experiments
in
science,
the
arts
and
in
design
research,
Nordes
Conference,
Copenhagen/
Malmö.
Turpeinen,
Ou0
(2005)
A
Meaningful
Museum
Object.
Cri7cal
visuality
in
cultural
history
museum
exhibi7ons.
Doctoral
Disserta0on
Aalto
University,
Helsinki
Turpeinen,
Ou0
(2006).
The
Interplay
of
Art
and
Research.
In:Mäkelä,
Maarit
&
Routarinne,
Sara,
The
art
of
research,
Aalto
University
Helsinki.
Acklin,
Claudia
(2011)
The
absorp0on
of
design
management
capabili0es
in
SMEs
with
liHle
or
No
prior
design
experience.
Making
Design
MaHer.
Nordes
Conference,
Helsinki,
2011.
Acklin,
Claudia
&
Steffen,
Dagmar
(2012)
Designgetriebene
Innova7on.
Konzepte,
Methoden,
Fallbeispiele,
Tools
für
Prak7kerinnen
und
Prak7ker.
Interact,
Lucerne
2012.
Adler,
Francoise;
Weber-­‐Marin,
Andrea
&
Steffen,
Dagmar,
Smart
Seman0cs.
Product
Seman0cs
of
Smart
Clothes,
IASDR
Conference
Seoul,
2009.
Bonsiepe,
Gui
(1997).
On
the
tense
rela0on
between
theory
and
praxis.
In:
formdiskurs,
Journal
on
design
and
theory,
No.
2.
(Vol.
1),
p.
6-­‐21.
Buchanan,
Richard
(1990).
Myth
and
maturity:
Toward
a
new
order
in
the
decade
of
Design.
In:
Design
Issues,
Nr.
2,
Vol
6,
p.
70-­‐80.
Durling,
David
(2002)
Discourse
on
research
and
the
PhD
in
Design.
In:
Quality
Assurance
in
Educa7on,
Vol.
10,
No.
2,
p.
79-­‐85.
Fällman,
Daniel
(2004)
In
Romance
with
the
Materials
of
Mobile
lnterac7on,
Disserta0on
Umea
University
2004
Hacking,
Ian,(1983)
Represen7ng
and
Intervening.
Introductory
Topics
in
the
Philosophy
of
Natural
Sciences.
Cambridge:
Cambridge
University
Press.