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DESIGN THEORY (CW1): WHAT IS RESEARCH-BASED AND INTUITIVE-BASED DESIGN?

Writer's picture: Roxette Divine SucayanRoxette Divine Sucayan
Feb 27, 20226 min read

Updated: Mar 23, 2022





 


RESEARCH-BASED DESIGN DEFINITION

  • Teemu Leinonen proposed the research-based design process derived from design theories. Its primary focus is to create sample models. It involves applying creativity in finding solutions, studying different ideas and design approaches, and conducting consistent testing and design modifications for the design solutions. The Scandinavian participatory design approach also inspired this process. With this said, these activities are commonly done in close collaboration with the community that will use and benefits from the products made.


  • The research-based design process has four major phases: contextual inquiry, participatory design, product design, and prototype as a hypothesis. Contextual inquiry delves into studying the socio-cultural side of design. It yields a better grasp of the context by identifying potential obstacles and design opportunities surrounding it. In participatory design, sessions occur in small groups where participants get a chance to present their design solutions. The role of users is vital in this process.


  • As for product design, this paves the way for the analysis of the result of the participatory design to come up with design decisions. Lastly, the prototype as hypothesis phase involves designing prototypes to be practical enough to cater to people as they go on with their day-to-day lives. Since prototypes are supposed to be part of solutions for the difficulties stated and readdressed during the research, they are regarded as hypotheses. The stakeholders determine whether or not they trust and agree with the design researchers.


EXAMPLES:

1. Modular Prosthetic Limb

  • The Modular Prosthetic Limb (MPL) is one of the most advanced upper-limb prosthetics. It is the result of a decade-long research initiative led by scientists and engineers at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory, financed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) (APL). The bionic arm features over 100 sensors that receive crucial movement information including force, vibration, torque, and temperature, as well as 17 distinct motors that operate 26 joints in the fingers, hand, and upper and lower arm. This design gives the prosthetic a high level of dexterity that allows it to perform complicated movements in a manner that is strikingly similar to an actual limb.




2. CeraVe (Skincare Brand)

  • CeraVe is a dermatologist-developed skincare line. Their products are science-based and made using carefully chosen ingredients. Three vital ceramides are present in their products, which aid in the restoration of the skin's natural barrier. They feature over ninety products grouped into eight categories, including facial cleansers and moisturizers, body cleansers and moisturizers, face serums, sunscreens, and baby care. These products help in treating their customers' various skin types and concerns.




3. Colorblind Glasses

  • Colorblind glasses are spectacles with specially tinted lenses that aid colorblind people in seeing colors more accurately. These glasses do not heal color blindness or restore normal color vision to 100 percent. However, they can help improve and partially correct color vision problems. Considering colorblind glasses are still in a recent development, there is still a lot of testing needed to assess their effectiveness range. Only two out of ten individuals in a research done in 2017 reported substantial color improvement. While this research is still preliminary, it appears to suggest that the effectiveness of colorblind glasses is relatively limited. Nevertheless, the EnChroma company continues to conduct research for better development of their glasses for people with color deficiency.




4. Pedigree (Dogfood)

  • The Pedigree Brand is one of the leading dog food brands in the market. They offer a wide assortment of products for different dog life stages. They collaborated with a specialist at the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition to create high-quality and nutrient-dense food that pets enjoy. All Pedigree recipes are made using quality ingredients and formulated for professional nutrition. Their recipes consist of ground whole corn, animal fat, beet pulp, ground whole wheat, meat and bone meal, vegetable oil, corn and gluten meal, and brewers rice.




 

INTUITIVE DESIGN DEFINITION

  • Intuitive design is a style that is generated using instincts and prior knowledge. There is no cognitive logic in such designs. Designers are able to freely express their emotions and thoughts in creating an object without regard to its functionality.


EXAMPLES:

1. Multiplied Discussion Structure, 2007

  • Liam Gillick is fascinated by structures, social organizations, and human connections. He produces modular items out of mass-produced materials like aluminum, chipboard, and Plexiglas that he arranges in site-specific installations to investigate how our social, political, and economic systems are ingrained in the built environment. His work, Multiplied Discussion Structure, can be considered a sculpture that can be used as a table or a bench. However, it is deemed unpractical because it is too low with only a size of 61 x 245 x 41 cm and is also easily bendable because of its material, aluminum; hence this sculpture is considered a design or decorative art.




2. Maseratirundum, 2007

  • Luca Pancrazzi is a multidisciplinary artist recognized for his painting, sculpture, photography, video, lightboxes, and massive installations that alter reflecting surfaces to distort shapes. His approach is founded on the notion of Corrado Brodi, a Florentine mathematician, that two bodies cannot be at the same place at the same time. His work, Maseratirundum, is a car covered with hundreds of tiny clear glass shards. The art aims to create a pixelated effect and distort the eye's perception.




3. Where #4, 2015

  • Gao Weigang is a painter, installation artist, sculptor, and performer who works in a variety of mediums. Gao's "Interior View" series features frigid interior scenes that resemble technical control centers and offer utopian future visions. He also forged a gold unicorn skull, an emerald green metallic stairway, and a spinning motorized disc set on a wall using stainless steel and titanium. His work, called Where #4, is a stainless steel ladder painted with 24 karat gold. Despite its appearance, it cannot be utilized as a ladder due to its thin material that cannot support a person's weight.




4. Dalbenstuhl, 2005

  • Florian Borkenhagen, an Interior Design professor at the Hamburg Academy of Fashion and Design, creates humorous sculptures out of adapted domestic gadgets. He mocks both religious tradition and modern technologies by combining sacred artifacts with mechanical parts. His work, 'Dalbenstuhl' (eng. Dolphin Chair), has a leather safety belt and lies on the floor ready for action, but its exact use is unknown.








 

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