The objective of this collaborative research project is to develop and maintain an interactive web portal, TheDesignExchange, to facilitate the capture, analysis and widespread use of methods for conducting design research. The study of design has been shown to have high impact on the quality and success of engineered products. However, design research does not fall into a single disciplinary body of knowledge, and TheDesignExchange fills a need to organize disparate design research methods, develop a community of design educators and practitioners to evaluate those methods, and educate the next generation of design innovators. TheDesignExchange provides a structure to collect the many design methods in use today, their origins, and use. It also will match design methods to design problems and help designers make informed decisions about when to apply these methods. The portal supports the entire design process, providing educators and practitioners alike with a versatile library of proven tools.
TheDesignExchange aims to be the largest public library of design research methods. The methods cover a wide range of communities and applications, including, for example, methods most effective for design for under-served communities. Faculty, undergraduates and graduate students of diverse backgrounds and heritage participate in this research, as well as practitioners and leaders from industry, non-profit and government design groups. The researchers leverage knowledge gained from TheDesignExchange to identify and teach the underlying skills associated with the various methods, providing recent graduates a more fluid understanding of how, why, and when to apply specific design research methods.
