The Design Research: for theory-based design knowledge
Spring 2022 – CMA seminar
Week 7 - Dr. Luisa Mok: The Design Research: for theory-based design knowledge
Time: 18th March 2022 10:30AM HKT
Zoom Meeting Information:
https://hkust.zoom.us/j/94972023731?pwd=VXAzVGErSEJxN2xDaUlZcUN2c1dNdz09
Meeting ID: 949 7202 3731
Passcode: cma
Abstract:
Design is a practising profession. The professional practice of design involves solving problems and creating new, useful solutions in real life context. Yet, practice is not research.
Design research is creating theory-based design knowledge, be it design as the subject or design as the method for knowledge creation. While due to the practising nature of design, a mutual interrelationship between design practice and design research is developed.
In this talk, Luisa will uncover what is the Design Research and discuss the systematic and methodical inquiry that oftentimes engages empirical reality in the Research. In addition, she will present her own work, titled "Design against Reverse Salients: strategic design for the short-term future for sustainability transitions;' which is a practice-relevant design research bridging design practice and academic design.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Luisa Mok attained her PhD in Design from Aalto University, Finland. She also has another background in anthropology. Having her first career in industrial design industry, her experiences in design practice and academic research have built up her strength in bridging the two in order to offer practical, elegant solutions for the greater socio-environmental good.
She has been teaching in the Division of Industrial Design in the National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore, and now she is residing in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST ), Hong Kong. In the technology university, she develops design courses aiming to nurture students the solid design knowledge for them to develop technology-enhanced innovations for real-life problems.
About research work, Dr. Mok focuses on strategic design for sustainability transitions, which belongs to the emergent research work in sustainability design research community. Her interdisciplinary research integrates transitions theories and strategic design studies, which develops a new integrated design framework for sustainability.