Design Library Guide

This library guide is intended as an introduction to design research for students studying industrial design, interior architecture/ interior design, fashion and textile design, graphic design, and more!

Resources include:

• A selection of eBooks 
• Access to articles on topics related to design 
• Links to print materials in the library related to design

Here are some questions to keep in mind when forming your research question. Not every project will answer all these questions, but they may help you describe and define your research process:

• What problem(s) are you trying to solve? What will you improve or fix? How will you document or measure improvement?
• How will your project impact your target audience? How will it impact the environment or industry?
• What materials, processes or techniques will you use? Where will you get them?
• How will you test your project to ensure it does what you think it will?
• In what ways are you keeping accessibility and sustainability in mind?

Once you have your research question, you will need to figure out how you will conduct your research. Different projects will require different methods of investigation, and some may require more than one. Some common examples include:

• Product Research/ Comp Analysis
  • Product Reviews
  • Engineering Standards
  • Patents and Design Sketches
• Precedents/ Case Studies
  • Literature Review
• Participant Research
  • Interviews and Questionnaires
  • Observation or Participant Observation
  • Usability Testing
• Collage/ Image Boards
  • Use the Images Library Guide for help finding and citing images