A Designer's Research Manual, 2nd edition, Updated and Expanded: Succeed in Design by Knowing Your Clients and Understanding What They Really Need

Good information gives designers a competitive advantage. Understanding the wishes of a client and the needs and preferences of their audience drives innovation. The ability to gather research, analyze findings, and apply them to project goals is as important to successful design teams as their conceptual and aesthetic skills. This essential handbook will help readers understand what design research is and why it is necessary, outline proven techniques and methods, and explain how to incorporate them into any creative process.
 
A Designer’s Research Manual was one of the first books to apply research practices to the benefit of visual communication designers. This long awaited second edition follows more than a decade of active use by practitioners, design educators, and students around the world. Comprehensively updated, A Designer's Research Manual second edition includes:

  • Over 25 proven research strategies and tactics
  • Added content about planning research, analyzing results, and integrating research into the design process
  • Suggestions for scaling research for any project, timeline, or budget
  • All new in-depth case studies from industry leaders, outlining strategy and impact
  • Updated images, illustrations, and visualizations
  • Quick Tips for rapid integration of research concepts into your practice
1125986279
A Designer's Research Manual, 2nd edition, Updated and Expanded: Succeed in Design by Knowing Your Clients and Understanding What They Really Need

Good information gives designers a competitive advantage. Understanding the wishes of a client and the needs and preferences of their audience drives innovation. The ability to gather research, analyze findings, and apply them to project goals is as important to successful design teams as their conceptual and aesthetic skills. This essential handbook will help readers understand what design research is and why it is necessary, outline proven techniques and methods, and explain how to incorporate them into any creative process.
 
A Designer’s Research Manual was one of the first books to apply research practices to the benefit of visual communication designers. This long awaited second edition follows more than a decade of active use by practitioners, design educators, and students around the world. Comprehensively updated, A Designer's Research Manual second edition includes:

  • Over 25 proven research strategies and tactics
  • Added content about planning research, analyzing results, and integrating research into the design process
  • Suggestions for scaling research for any project, timeline, or budget
  • All new in-depth case studies from industry leaders, outlining strategy and impact
  • Updated images, illustrations, and visualizations
  • Quick Tips for rapid integration of research concepts into your practice
27.99 In Stock
A Designer's Research Manual, 2nd edition, Updated and Expanded: Succeed in Design by Knowing Your Clients and Understanding What They Really Need

A Designer's Research Manual, 2nd edition, Updated and Expanded: Succeed in Design by Knowing Your Clients and Understanding What They Really Need

A Designer's Research Manual, 2nd edition, Updated and Expanded: Succeed in Design by Knowing Your Clients and Understanding What They Really Need
Add to Wishlist
A Designer's Research Manual, 2nd edition, Updated and Expanded: Succeed in Design by Knowing Your Clients and Understanding What They Really Need

A Designer's Research Manual, 2nd edition, Updated and Expanded: Succeed in Design by Knowing Your Clients and Understanding What They Really Need

Overview

Good information gives designers a competitive advantage. Understanding the wishes of a client and the needs and preferences of their audience drives innovation. The ability to gather research, analyze findings, and apply them to project goals is as important to successful design teams as their conceptual and aesthetic skills. This essential handbook will help readers understand what design research is and why it is necessary, outline proven techniques and methods, and explain how to incorporate them into any creative process.
 
A Designer’s Research Manual was one of the first books to apply research practices to the benefit of visual communication designers. This long awaited second edition follows more than a decade of active use by practitioners, design educators, and students around the world. Comprehensively updated, A Designer's Research Manual second edition includes:

  • Over 25 proven research strategies and tactics
  • Added content about planning research, analyzing results, and integrating research into the design process
  • Suggestions for scaling research for any project, timeline, or budget
  • All new in-depth case studies from industry leaders, outlining strategy and impact
  • Updated images, illustrations, and visualizations
  • Quick Tips for rapid integration of research concepts into your practice

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781631594304
Publisher: Rockport Publishers
Publication date: 07/01/2017
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 208
File size: 13 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Jenn and Ken Visocky O'Grady are authors, designers, and educators whose work has been featured in numerous books and creative industry publications.
Jenn is a professor at Cleveland State University, a public research university where for nearly two decades she has dedicated herself to providing access and opportunity to a diverse group of aspiring creatives. She has also served on the board of directors for AIGA, the professional association for design.
Ken is a professor and coordinator of the graduate program at the School of Visual Communication Design at Kent State University. His coursework focuses on design thinking and research-driven design practices. He has served on the AIGA Design Educators Community  (DEC) steering committee.
The couple have co-authored three internationally distributed books, Design Currency, The Information Design Handbook, and A Designers Research Manual, that strive to make academic concepts approachable while celebrating the power, impact, and potential of good design. They also present workshops and lectures at creative industry events, and are committed to promoting the value of design to external audiences.
You can learn more at visockyogrady.com
 


Jenn and Ken Visocky O'Grady are authors, designers, and educators whose work has been featured in numerous books and creative industry publications. Jenn is a professor at Cleveland State University, a public research university where for nearly two decades she has dedicated herself to providing access and opportunity to a diverse group of aspiring creatives. She has also served on the board of directors for AIGA, the professional association for design. Ken is a professor and coordinator of the graduate program at the School of Visual Communication Design at Kent State University. His coursework focuses on design thinking and research-driven design practices. He has served on the AIGA Design Educators Community  (DEC) steering committee. The couple have co-authored three internationally distributed books, Design Currency, The Information Design Handbook, and A Designers Research Manual, that strive to make academic concepts approachable while celebrating the power, impact, and potential of good design. They also present workshops and lectures at creative industry events, and are committed to promoting the value of design to external audiences. You can learn more at visockyogrady.com

Table of Contents

Introduction: Why This Book? 6

How Do I Use This Book? 7

Chapter 1 An Overview of Research in Graphic Design? 10

What is Research-Driven Design? 11

What Research Can + Can't Do 12

What is Person-First Design? 13

Person-First Philosophies 14

User Centered Design 14

Human-Centered Design 14

Expert Voice: Mike Bond 16

Historical Perspectives 18

Bauhaus Beginnings 18

The Perfect Couple 21

We've Been Watching You 21

Don't Tell Me, Show Me 23

Emerging Opportunities in Design Research 25

Experience Design 25

User Research 25

Design Strategy 27

Design Creates Value 28

Design + Investment 29

The Design Staircase 31

Quick Tips 33

Chapter 2 Research Strategies + Tactics 34

Big Concepts in Research 35

Quantitative + Qualitative Research 35

Primary + Secondary Research 36

Formative + Summative Research 37

Basic + Applied Research 39

Triangulation 40

Strategy: Literature Review 42

Tactic: Communication Audit 44

Tactic: Competitor Profiling 46

Strategy: Ethnographic Research 48

Tactic: Contextual Inquiry 52

Tactic: Observational Research 54

Tactic: Photo Ethnography 56

Tactic: Self Ethnography 58

Tactic: Unstructured Interviews 60

Tactic: Visual Anthropology 62

Expert Voice: Ashwini Deshpande 64

Strategy: Marketing Research 66

Tactic: Demographics 68

Tactic: Psychographics 69

Tactic: Focus Groups 70

Tactic: Surveys + Questionnaires 72

Strategy: User Experience 74

Tactic: A/B Testing 76

Tactic: Analytics 78

Tactic: Card Sorting 80

Tactic: Eye Tracking 82

Tactic: Paper Prototyping 86

Expert Voice: Jenny Lam 88

Tactic: Personas 90

Strategy: Visual Exploration 92

Tactic: Color Psychology 94

Tactic Weed Boards 96

Tactic: Sketching 98

Quick Tips 101

Chapter 3 Practicing a Research-Driven Approach 102

Managing the Design Process: You Need a Plan 103

Iterative Design 105

Design Council's Double Diamond Process 107

Information Literacy, The Big6™ + The Super3™ 109

Research Planning 112

KWHL Tables 116

Logic Models 118

Research Analysis 120

Sample Framework to Help Structure 122

Sample Framework to Help Empathize 124

Research Summary Report and Creative Briefs 126

Research Summary Reports 127

Creative Briefs 128

Expert Voice: Megan Fath 131

Cumulative Documentation 134

Quick Tips 135

Chapter 4 Project Spotlights 136

Bond & Coyne: AUB Brand Strategy 137

CO:LAB: Asset Promise 142

GFDA: BEAM Brand Strategy 148

Hallmark Creative: Studio Ink 154

IBM Design: IBM Design Research 160

Expert Voice: Elizabeth Pastor + GK VanPatter 166

Lippincott: Hyatt Place 168

Red Jotter: Know Sugar 174

Rule29: Wheels4Water 180

The Veterans Experience Office: Enhancing Veterans' Experiences 186

Willoughby Design: Live Blue 192

Glossary of Terms 198

Bibliography 201

Additional Resources 202

Credits 203

Featured Practitioners 205

Index 206

About the Authors 208

From the B&N Reads Blog
Page 1 of

Customer Reviews