Abstract
Design research, especially practice-based design research is a relatively new field. One of the most important inquiries in this area is how practical experiments can promote and develop theoretical enquiry. In particular, could the artistic or design experiment function as a legitimate "context of discovery" within research so that the practical results of that experimentation are both themselves an integral part of the research and, when analyzed as to their implications, contribute to theory-generation? My aim in this paper is to illuminate the possibility of practice-based design research by means of a concrete example where the experimental production of new combinations and compositions of textile acoustic material functions on two levels, providing both samples for acoustic testing, and actual situations for analyzing the products' qualitative (aesthetic) values for interior design. The research results are of specific significance for architects, enriching their repertoire of usable materials and artefacts for interior design, but the methodology has a wider implication concerning the role of practical design work as itself an element in the research process and in theory-generation.
Citation
Tooming, K. (2004) The Creative Process in Practice Based Design Research., in Redmond, J., Durling, D. and de Bono, A (eds.), Futureground - DRS International Conference 2004, 17-21 November, Melbourne, Australia. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2004/researchpapers/125
The Creative Process in Practice Based Design Research.
Design research, especially practice-based design research is a relatively new field. One of the most important inquiries in this area is how practical experiments can promote and develop theoretical enquiry. In particular, could the artistic or design experiment function as a legitimate "context of discovery" within research so that the practical results of that experimentation are both themselves an integral part of the research and, when analyzed as to their implications, contribute to theory-generation? My aim in this paper is to illuminate the possibility of practice-based design research by means of a concrete example where the experimental production of new combinations and compositions of textile acoustic material functions on two levels, providing both samples for acoustic testing, and actual situations for analyzing the products' qualitative (aesthetic) values for interior design. The research results are of specific significance for architects, enriching their repertoire of usable materials and artefacts for interior design, but the methodology has a wider implication concerning the role of practical design work as itself an element in the research process and in theory-generation.