Design Research consists of the primary research into the design process, aiming to support products or services' strategic design and development. It's a user-centered approach that helps answer questions like "Who are your users?", "What problems are they facing?" and "How are they going to use this product/service?".
Considering qualitative and quantitative research, the purpose is to create a great design based on users' motivations, unmet needs, and how they will use and experience certain products or services.
Design Research can often be confused with Market Research and, although they have complementary approaches, they differ in terms of scope, data, and end results.
On the one hand, Market Research focuses on generating value (often financial) for organizations that will lead to purchases and sales of products/services. On the other hand, Design Research focuses on how users will use and experience the products/services and how their needs can be satisfied.
This way, companies can improve their customers' lives and build loyalty and engagement for their products and services.
Take a look at the table below and see the main differences between these two different approaches:
A great Design Research must encompass some steps. Gathering the data is not enough to complete the process: it's necessary to analyse it at some specific levels to clarify complex human needs, behaviours, and perspectives. This includes:
Although there are many ways to collect data, these are the three most common Design Research methods:
So, which one to pick? Deciding on which research method to use will always depend on what kind of product/service is being developed and for whom it will be targeted. Starting with Primary Research will certainly unlock many issues and bring new questions on what it will be needed to do next.
By now, it's already known that Design Research it's not an easy task. It can be very consuming since it takes time, resources, and preparation. However, the results are worth it, and they bring several benefits to businesses. Here are some of the main benefits:
Due to many years of experience, our expert designers developed a unique and distinct method - our Product Design Process - a user-centered process for digital products that follows a multidisciplinary approach.
The PDP focuses on consistently providing exceptional UX/UI Design, improving user experience, enhancing conversions, and growing businesses' value while balancing costs and benefits on a rapid market launch.
We incorporated the best industry practices and techniques alongside field experience and valuable feedback to perfect the process.
We all know that behind a digital product's look & feel, there's way more than just bright and engaging user interfaces. In fact, it's vital to focus on the user's journey and overall usability.
Once it's impossible to generate good ideas without understanding the problems to solve and what needs to be built, we start our process with the Research phase. This first step is the UX designer's responsibility.
Its goal is to gather evidence that supports the decisions taken henceforth, ensuring none is made based on vague assumptions. This is the phase in which the main aspects of the business model and user needs are identified.
The Research phase is composed of three steps: Briefing, User Research and Design Benchmark. See below:
The Briefing consists of a workshop with the team (usually one to four hours) to present the project's vision/goals and clarify all the necessary business requirements. The main goal is to ensure that the whole team works on the same page and shares all the relevant information to start the project.
It's crucial to manage client expectations and design a great solution considering the type of product and its audience target, the maturity of the project's idea, the team members' profile, and even the communication style.
User Research consists of exploring the user profiles considering the product stakeholders. Defining personas (demographic information and user context) and identifying motivations will be vital for knowing users' goals and needs when using the product.
This very important step will guarantee the product's usefulness and effectiveness from the users' point of view, assuring it is successful in the most fundamental dimensions of usability.
Design Benchmark consists of researching the landscape of similar and complementary products in the market. Analysing design patterns and technologies used in the industry and on similar activities allows positioning the product in this ecosystem.
The main goal is to leverage the knowledge and skills of existing players while assuring feature/design differentiation.
Design Research is much more than having a product with a great look & feel. It's about understanding people and getting to know how they experience the world, meeting their stories, motivations, and needs. In its essence, Design Research is the art of observing what users say and do to perceive what they think and feel.
No matter how much data one gathered in the past or how well a company thinks to know their customers, there is always something new to discover about an audience. Allowing users to be the experts makes it possible to uncover valuable opportunities that could satisfy their needs - without even looking for them.
The greater bonus of Design Research? The surprising findings, new perspectives, and rewarding insights reduce the risk of designing the wrong solution and get clients frustrated. Instead, it creates room for innovative user-centred solutions.
At Imaginary Cloud, we follow a three-step Research phase. We start with Briefing, a workshop with the team to present the project's vision and goals and the business requirements. Next, we conduct User Research, defining and identifying users' motivations for using the product. Finally, we execute a Design Benchmark to leverage the knowledge and skills of existing players and, this way, assure the product's differentiation.
Digital marketing enthusiast, crazy online shopper, and a mother of a Siamese baby cat. In my spare time, you can find me riding a bike in the countryside.
Marketing intern with a particular interest in technology and research. In my free time, I play volleyball and spoil my dog as much as possible.
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