Design Research Notes

Design Research Notes is a joint initiative run by DMEM design academic Laura Hay in collaboration with Philip Cash and Jaap Daalhuizen from DTU.

What are Research Notes?

Research Notes are short papers, motivated by the growing need for design research to more actively reflect on, celebrate, and build research quality to mature as a field.

Design research is almost uniquely positioned to provide rich research insights from multiple perspectives, with the potential for wide-ranging scientific and societal impact. Research Notes aim to enhance design research quality while fostering this diversity of approaches and views, and provide a dedicated platform for research quality discussions.

Who is involved?

The initiative has so far received significant interest and positive support from across the design community, including researchers at different career stages and reflecting almost every methodological and philosophical background in the field. The initial call for abstracts attracted more than 140 researchers!

How can I find out more?

Research Notes have been established as a new submission type at the international journal Design Studies, and can be submitted at any time. Author instructions are available here.

The articles in the first issue of Research Notes at Design Studies are available to read here. This collection takes a starting point in nine major themes, identified through an international workshop with over 40 authors. Check out the videos below for more information on each theme!