Friday, February 18, 2022

Research-based ideation

While research is an established part of the design process, what is research in the context of ideation? First, ideation is about generating ideas and so researched -based ideation involves forms of exploratory research, and qualitative research at that. That is, research that is exploratory in nature as it tries to explore, not to predict the outcome - after all, ideas amount to suggestions or propositions, not final outcomes. The ideation research approach then necessarily varies, from examining the situation and culture where the design takes place (through literature, conversations and interviews) to searching and referencing written or visual sources (both on- and offline), and to playing around with materials and techniques, including sketching and modelling and culminating, perhaps, in the proverbial Aha! moment. 

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