Dia: January 2010

By Leedy Ormrod

What is Research?

Research originates with a questions or problem.
Research requires clear articulation of a goal.
Research requires a specific plan for proceeding
Research usually provides the principal problem into more manageable subproblem
Research is guided by the specific research problem, question, or hypothesis
Research accepts critical assumptions
Research requires the collection and interpretation of data in an attempt to resolve the problem that initiated the research
Research is, by nature, cylical, or more exactly, helical.

What is not Research?

Lectures from programs such as semiotics, literary theory, etc. were introduced to students back in 1937 in the New Bauhaus of Chicago.
Design is synthetic, meaning that "it does not have a subject matter of its own. It exists in practice only in relation to the requirements of given projects."
Proposes graphic design education as a liberal arts subject
Aristotle defined liberal arts as: not mechanical; not utilitarian; no restrictions in the mind; and has an intrinsic value.
Educators should pick up the trends to prepare their students for the future. Make them adaptable
Liberal art could include: history and theory.
Design is about meaning and how meaning is created: where science, literature, sociology and history all take part.

by Meredith Davis

The numbers of design programs have raised due to the popular demands in this profession
However, Graphic Design is no longer practiced in its traditional way, students need to know more, such as social sciences and liberal studies to widen their knowledge for a more well-rounded education.
Schools need to prepare students for this change in the profession
Research is also important in the design context: for master students
Because too many schools are offering design programs, there is a shortage of legible faculties

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