Beyond the object : an intersection of design and research within a sustainability context

Abstract

Since the notion of 'research through design' was included in Frayling's now famous 1993 paper 'Research in Art and Design' many in the design discipline have been exploring the nature of such an approach. This study explores what a research-through-design approach could be like for developing socially oriented research outcomes particularly in regards to sustainability. Much of design research focuses on constructing knowledge related to artefacts. In contrast, this study uses the design approach to construct non-object-orientated knowledge about possible futures. By non-object-orientated I am referring to a design process which does not focus on the artefact and instead is seen as facilitating the practice of everyday life. Hence, the purpose of this study is to construct a design-led methodology for the context of sustainability. To construct this design-led methodology I compile components from design practice, design research and sustainable design theory to re-mould design into a research methodology. I have also used a design project approach to construct the methodology which is reflected in the structure of the thesis. This approach includes starting with a brief, then compiling the theoretical components and context in the background research, to be distilled into a concept for the methodology. This concept is encapsulated in the notion of enabling design from within the system of the everyday. Then I use field work conducted in a rural Australian town to develop this concept, where participants are engaged in a process of imagining possible futures of sustainable wellbeing for their town. This step applied a 'thinking by doing' approach to further develop the concept into an outcome. The outcome is a proposal for a methodology which I call Bigamatics. This final methodology is presented as a mock-up of a guide book for early researchers to develop their own design-led research projects. I see design research as sitting within a socially oriented research context as all design outcomes are fundamental about society. Hence this design-led methodology should be of use not only to design but to socially oriented researchers more generally. However, this study only attempts to initiate this conversation between a wider variety of researchers, hoping to continue this discourse into the future. The proposed methodology is constructed for an academic context though could also be developed for wider application such as community-based and practice-based projects.