An overview of research methods in visual communication design education

Abstract

The article presents a review of studies done on research in visual communication design education. According to reviews, the design practice in visual communication design education has shifted from an emphasis on training in traditional vocational courses to a focus on research being integral to the course; this prompted this article to examine the use of research in postgraduate and undergraduate programs and evaluate the debate over research methods applicable to the field. This article includes a brief definition of visual communication design, an overview of commonly used methods for visual communication design education such as Action Research and Reflective Practice, as well as an outline of research emphasis in visual communication design at postgraduate level. In addition, this article provides a brief overview on the nature of problem in undergraduate studies, such as lack of appropriate models of research practice in visual communication design education, and also the need for early training in the research discipline for visual communication in undergraduate studies.

Keywords::

• research methodology
• design research
• art and design education
• visual communication design

Notes

^1. The imaginative approach, also known as research imagination, is about having a broad view of a topic; being open to ideas regardless of how or where they originated; questioning and scrutinizing ideas, methods and arguments regardless of who proposes them; playing with different ideas in order to see if links can be made; following ideas to see where they might lead (Hart, 1998, p. 30).The reflective practice or inquiry involves thoughtfully considering one's own experiences in applying knowledge to practice while being coached by professionals in the discipline (Schön, 1996). It focuses on design as an inquiry rather than design as a problem-solving.Designerly method refers to the practice-based research procedures conducted by the designer, in which the mode of problem solving is “solution-focused,” and the mode of thinking is “constructive” (Cross, 1982).Design as research is a research process initiated for the purposes of enriching or modifying aspects of a particular profession. The process is influenced by Schön (1992), where he observes that “the designer constructs the design world within which he/she sets the dimensions of his/her problem space, and invents the moves by which he/she attempts to find solutions” (p. 142).Interpretation approach employs interpretation as a method to build a new rationality: constructing material culture, holding as a reference the user, ultimate recipient for the projected product. Specifically, understanding (material or immaterial culture) through dialectics among and within all players (people, context, culture, complexity of factors, and time) and abduction (logical inference, reasoning to evaluate, and explain through the process of attribution of meaning; Soares & Pombo, 2010, p. 1).The bricolage method consists of combining methods from the social sciences, humanities, and hard sciences to derive a suitable model of inquiry (Yee & Bremner, 2011).Visual research methods are a form of research that uses drawings, photography, and other visual forms to produce visual representations (studying society by producing images), to examine pre-existing visual representations (studying images for information about society), or to collaborate with social actors (people) in the production of visual representations (Banks, 1995).