Originally posted 2020-11-23 16:18:40.
From the time when I’ve been introduced to design, I’ve heard a lot of arguments, debates on the roles and responsibilities of a Designer and Researcher. Many of us have misconceptions that designer and researcher are same person, the roles and responsibility is same
Each and everyone of you must be thinking that this is simple, Designer is a person who creates Design and researchers are people who research on particular topics.
Both of them have got a major role in the design industry I can tell you all that for sure. Whether it’s creating amazing UX designs or performing extensive Research, either one can’t survive without the other. They have a mutual relationship between them that helps them perform well in harmony.
Designer Vs Researcher
Let’s take an example for better understanding of the roles of designer and researcher in the design field.
Suppose you want to build a house that’s your dream since childhood. You then do some searching and find an Architect that you think is the best for you and then tell him about your dream home, he listens to you & recommends some things to you to jot down some points and then after your session with him he creates a plan for you.
Now it’s the builders’ work to follow that plan or blueprint to create your dream home. The builder you’ve hired will then create a structure around that plan that’s made according to your taste.
Similarly A designer is a person that creates extraordinary designs for their potential clients to help them experience the product with ease and fulfil their requirements with it. A designer is a person that works on the principals that are laid by the researcher.
If you’re thinking that why can’t a designer do both research and design then you’re missing the point of specialization and perfection. Yes Designers do research but their research is based on the path that they are taking for designing that product. It’s difficult to do extensive research along with designing. That’s why big firms have different departments such as R&D dedicated for research purposes only. Why else would anyone wanna spend this much on research alone.
To make it more clear consider this at Mount Woods Studio, we focus on specialization i.e we are specialists in Branding but it’s not like we don’t do anything else yet we can do other stuff to achieve perfection and create great experience for users we have chosen specialization in particular field.
Researchers basically think from the user’s point of view and then provide the designer a direction with which they have to create the designs.
What I’m trying to say here is that the researcher provides a blueprint for the designer about the product, what kind of product they will be designing in order to please the customer. Designer then does their personal research about the design to make it come to life and fulfil the purpose it’s created for properly.
Yes you’ve guessed it right, research work requires a lot of time and money in order to get proper output and create an outcome that is desirable and wanted by the users. “The perfect product” is the aim that researchers focus on achieving through countless analysis and trials. The work of researchers is quite complex and requires great precision because the designers rely on their report to create the design. If the blueprint is not properly mitigated then what’s the point in designing it.
Now that we are done with the research phase, we move over to the Designing process, which is based on the research report that is submitted by the researchers. The purpose of the designer is to create their designs based on that report with their creativity, thinking and precision. Giving a new meaning to design. Designers are basically giving a shape to the words that are written by the researchers.
So yeah both co-exist and one can’t do their work without another. Designers and Researchers are basically like the heart and brain of the design community with their distinct function and ways to support the design community.
Yes Yes I know you’re all wondering now how cool Designers and Researchers are and want to become one yourself.
So let me tell you some of the Interesting Facts that these Researchers and Designers do together.
Top 10 Interesting Facts about Designers and Researchers
1. Researchers can help you become better designers. It means that with proper research the designs that we intend to create becomes complete. Take an Example of Apple. Reason why they have a groundbreaking success is because of the fact that they spend years researching and perfecting their designs according to it.
2. Designers help in shaping the words of the researchers into reality and give a meaning to the research that the Researchers have done and get their proper recognition for their work.
3. During the working session the researchers and designers discuss the possibility of the design and create a mutual understanding that is benefitting for their organisation and for them as well.
4. The outcomes are considered to be important and with the interaction between designers and researchers there’s a possibility that the ideas originated won’t be thrown under the bus i.e they will be given equal opportunities for their ideas and work they are doing.
5. Creative design process is also an extensive research process. For example Mount Woods Studio is a Branding firm and without proper research we won’t be able to deliver the quality services that we promise. For us research work is equivalent to that of the designing process. We do a proper rigorous research of the brand and after everything is done first hand the designing process is done.
6. Well according to popular design belief “a good research never ends with organised data, it ends with Great design and better user functionality”.
7. Research work can be considered as the paper work for the design that is to be created. This can be related to the Report that one submit during college days before designing the process. Basically it outlines the key features of what actual design might look like and what features it might hold.
To get more insight let’s take another example. Suppose you have to register your organisation you first have to submit all the required documentation with the registration firm, tell them about your organisation with those documents and then your organisation will come into limelight with your work just like a design that is now out in the world.
8. Researcher’s main aim is to get a better understanding of the problem and then the ideation phase is carried out with the moderation phase next in line. Then it’s the designer’s responsibility to carry out the final product after the moderation.
9. It’s the Researcher’s job to find the target market for the product in order for the designers to show their work to this targeted audience.
10. Currently fortune 500 companies are paying thousands of dollars to their designers to create exceptional and extraordinary designs. Paying even more on research for knowing what the audience want in particular and what intrigues them the most.
Final Thoughts
We are rambling from so long about Researchers and Designers and we could go on forever on this topic. The point is that there is so many interesting facts about designers and researchers that will take eternity to list here but what I’m trying to get here is that both of the fields coexist in harmony with each other. It’s like they help each other grow exponentially with creating some extraordinary design and making this world a better place.
We as designers and Researchers have an obligation to make this world a better place by fulfilling our duties and help teach each other new and creative ways to create amazing designs.
This is only possible if we can build a design community, teach each other and always stay connected.
You can always connect with me on social media, or commenting down below and you can support Mount Woods Studio to build a design community.
We do collaborate on projects, so if you have one, contact us now. Let’s create something awesome together.
