Abstract
This exploratory paper invokes a typology of textile repair methods as a metaphor for design research. A rising “visible repair movement” is emerging as a strategy for shifting cultural perceptions of the appropriateness of repair while encouraging lay persons to acquire the tools and skills (and confidence) needed to fix things themselves. By doing so, more goods are kept out of the waste stream and ideas about the value of things that are worn or damaged is transformed. Likewise, generally knowledge of research-led design practices could benefit from raising the visibility of the contributions that design research makes to meaningful design practices. By using a visually potent metaphor such as repair, this paper encourages the new ways to understand contemporary role(s) for research.
Keywords
Design research, Visible repair, Metaphor
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2023.112
Citation
Beecher, M.(2023) Absence, gaps, splits, and holes: Design research as visible repair, in Holmlid, S., Rodrigues, V., Westin, C., Krogh, P. G., Mäkelä, M., Svanaes, D., Wikberg-Nilsson, Å (eds.), Nordes 2023: This Space Intentionally Left Blank, 12-14 June, Linköping University, Norrköping, Sweden. https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2023.112
Conference Track
exploratorypapers
Absence, gaps, splits, and holes: Design research as visible repair
This exploratory paper invokes a typology of textile repair methods as a metaphor for design research. A rising “visible repair movement” is emerging as a strategy for shifting cultural perceptions of the appropriateness of repair while encouraging lay persons to acquire the tools and skills (and confidence) needed to fix things themselves. By doing so, more goods are kept out of the waste stream and ideas about the value of things that are worn or damaged is transformed. Likewise, generally knowledge of research-led design practices could benefit from raising the visibility of the contributions that design research makes to meaningful design practices. By using a visually potent metaphor such as repair, this paper encourages the new ways to understand contemporary role(s) for research.