Abstract
As part of a wider empirical study in to the potential role of industrial design in scientific research, a series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with scientists to understand how their perceptions of design and designers might influence collaboration. This paper reports that scientists without prior experience of working with designers may be unclear as to their skills and areas of expertise, and may subsequently be missing out on collaborative opportunities. Scientists perceive a greater possible impact on applied research through engagement of professional design skills. It was revealed that design interventions could be suitable for many scientists as their range of research activities is likely to include both basic and applied research. Opportunities were identified for designers to play a role in scientific research, especially with issues relating to communication.
Keywords
Collaboration, Multidisciplinary, Industrial Design, Perception
Citation
Driver, A., Peralta, C., and Moultrie, J. (2010) An Exploratory Study of Scientists’ Perceptions of Design and Designers, in Durling, D., Bousbaci, R., Chen, L, Gauthier, P., Poldma, T., Roworth-Stokes, S. and Stolterman, E (eds.), Design and Complexity - DRS International Conference 2010, 7-9 July, Montreal, Canada. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2010/researchpapers/32
An Exploratory Study of Scientists’ Perceptions of Design and Designers
As part of a wider empirical study in to the potential role of industrial design in scientific research, a series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with scientists to understand how their perceptions of design and designers might influence collaboration. This paper reports that scientists without prior experience of working with designers may be unclear as to their skills and areas of expertise, and may subsequently be missing out on collaborative opportunities. Scientists perceive a greater possible impact on applied research through engagement of professional design skills. It was revealed that design interventions could be suitable for many scientists as their range of research activities is likely to include both basic and applied research. Opportunities were identified for designers to play a role in scientific research, especially with issues relating to communication.