Exemplary design research

Center for Design Research, Royal Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, Copenhagen, Denmark Many design programmes are currently under-going radical transformations as they move towards university status. Research and research-based education becomes part of the everyday of the design school. Also in design studios and design consultancies, design research is frequently heard of as a new venue of activity. But what is design research and how does it relate to design and to the more proven knowledge production of the sciences and humanities? In this paper we will suggest some answers to these questions. In particular, we will look at what role a research program and an interventionist research strategy based on design experiments may play for the advancement of knowledge relevant to design and designers. With the notion of “exemplary design research driven by programs, experiments and interventions”, we refer to research based on the explicit formulation of design programs that act as a frame and foundation for carrying out series of design experiments and interventions. It is ‘exemplary’ in the sense that it enables critical dissemination primarily by creating examples of what could be done and how, i.e. examples that both express the possibilities of the design program as well as more general suggestions about a (change to) design practice.