BUZZ POSITION STATEMENT

INQUIRY QUESTION:

The central aim of my BUZZ research revolved around an examination of –  if; when; how; and to what degree, research is embedded into the creative design process of 3 of my third year students in BA (Hons) Visual Communication at AIT.

Initially my intent was to set about finding evidence that captured the varying degrees of influence that research was having on the creative and visual development of the students work. However, I adjusted this inquiry after a tutorial when I understood that the direction I was headed was becoming too theoretical and this then led me to hone in, very specifically, to my case study group of students. I redefined my central question in the context of their situation within our own studio culture in AIT and their unique and personal researching activities and experiences. This then emerged as the thrust behind my own investigations for BUZZ. Symbiotic researching threads emerged and the students’ personal and individual researching skills fueled my own BUZZ research activity more than I ever envisaged at the outset.

RESEARCH METHODS (some cross over here into types of data and research outcomes)

A huge part of my methodology in the early stages included much reading, focusing on models of design research. Some of this is documented here in the blog. A point of interest for me too in doing this was my discovery that there exists surprisingly little writing and theory on design research methodologies. Much of my references led me to the relatively new field of HCI (Human Centered Interface) design. This research was proving to be enormously informative and I intend to refer back to some of my earlier analysis of it again at the close of BUZZ when I can integrate it into my findings at the macro level of my case study group.

However, once I refocused my intentions after engaging in these theoretical investigations and honed in on specific and individual observation of my students, my research became engaged in reflection and analysis of their research activities. The most constant research method I utilised was analysis of documentary evidence – predominantly the students’ sketchpads and notebooks. I continue even still to filter the elements that I have observed and recorded from these and the analysis of them is ongoing. This research method has been very fruitful in allowing me time to reflect on their individual research activities. And while there is an intimacy to pouring over their sketchpads, particularly in reading their notations on why particular research elements have been included or where they anticipate the influence of it unfolding within the projects’ creative development there is, conversely, a curious sense of remove from the process also at times. With one student in particular there is a sense that it is being filtered or presented for tutor benefit rather than her own. I discussed this with students in tutorials and it became clear that in fact this distancing is a technique she employs to give herself a sense of standing back and assessing the research. I found this very interesting as it seemed to me that in the creating this distance she afforded both of us an opportunity to reflect and observe.

The second main method of research I engaged in (and just touched on above) was tutorials with my students. These were enormously informative as here the act of my BUZZ research was wholly and completely bound up with my teaching practice. This method of researching gave me great insight into the day-to-day researching activities of the students and crystallised the degree to which each one engaged with their research; how they did so; and the value of it in the context of the ongoing conceptual and visual development. In conversation with them I could really see the value, or not in some cases, of the latest installment of their research and also hear how they perceived the value of it. It was fascinating to observe their research in action in this way and to see how they used the data they had gathered to propel themselves forward creatively, while going off tangents at times also. Again here I was struck by the tandem nature of the journey we were on together, given my own experience of the research process at the start of BUZZ. 

The last element of evidence gathering I engaged in was structured interviews with the learners involved.

All along I had conducted my research without the case study students being aware that they were being ‘singled out’ for observation in any way. I felt that prior knowledge on their part might alter the natural researching path they might take. As it happened it all unfolded very well with the timing  - with the academic year wrapping up giving me a 1-week window to interview my students about their researching activities over the course of the case study project. I videoed these interviews which run between 11 and 16 minutes and will upload them to the blog shortly. These interviews added a whole new dimension to my own research activities and are proving to enormously helpful now at the closing stages of BUZZ. The main aspect in which I am finding them to be revelatory is with regard to identifying patterns of researching activity between students. This is in relation to the gathering of information and is even more evident in characterising the process of analysis and synthesis they engage in with their research particularly once they are actively recording it in their pads. (Analysis relating to the sources, methods of investigation, inquiry and understanding central to the research. Then in the synthesis also where each student is drawing upon his or her analytical work and investigation to draft meaningful communications). The 3 students’ ability to understand the range of issues affecting the creation of a successful visual communication – audience, the intention with the message/product, materials, the use of appropriate visual language - all influence the research strands engaged with and indeed influence their creative direction towards the final form their individual designed artifact takes.

These interviews allowed the students to give their own account of how they research and enabled them to describe the value they attach to it. I found this fascinating as all 3 students aligned their personality types and modus operandi to the act of researching and then the subsequent analysis and synthesis of it. They referenced metaphors for researching such as viewing it “as a reservoir” (Cat Mooney); or “like gathering seeds” (James Killeen).

Each student also spoke of the sense of self-belief, confidence and trust in their instincts that the researching provides. Disposing of doubt whether it is in relation to their knowledge on a subject or in relation to the visual explorations that go hand in hand with the researching activities they do  – validating their creative expression in a way.

Another common element was the degree to which research provided an enormous source of inspiration for the students (all spoke of being influenced with regard to colours encountered for example). Again the tandem element of our researching bubbled to the top here as I became increasingly creatively inspired through my own researching into their research activity.

TYPES OF DATA GATHERED: (see above..and some cross over into research outcomes)

So from the various methods of research engaged in over the course of BUZZ the main ‘types’ of data I have gathered are primarily around the following areas:

I have investigated how my case study students research, and their approach to research in the context of the sample brief that was part of the BUZZ study. But also in a broader sense too through my conversations with the students. This has proved to be hugely informative in revealing how each individual tackles researching. These approaches varied among the group with research being the first port of call for Ita to get her ‘head in gear’ for the project in hand; James approached the research a little later once he had some loose directions and ideas in place; and Cat described her approach to research as something that did not come naturally but that she did hand in hand with her initial brainstorming. 


All 3 said that researching is ongoing throughout the project, although there were differences in their research activity as the project rolled on. Additionally, all 3 students approached the activity in an organised yet intuitive way, with Cat admitting that at times she felt bogged down by research and found herself becoming sidetracked on occasion.

I also looked at how the students record their research.  Again some commonality here – all 3 have quite an organised approach to the recording of their research. For Ita the visual appearance of the research in her pad is very important and she described feeling happy when she perused the pad and felt that she had made sense of the random gathering she had engaged in. She described how she uses the process of pasting in gathered research elements as an opportunity to allow her to reflect and assess what she had gathered, and to question why; and where she viewed the value of it in the context of her project.

James also had a very structured approach. I was intrigued as he described how he records his research in his pad. It takes on an almost ‘gallery’ like environment where he carefully selects which elements of the research should appear along side each other - as he assesses how ‘things bounce off each other’. He groups things together over the weeks of the project - with certain elements being pasted into pages of pads that he has moved on from and filled - like the rooms of the gallery or chapters of a book. He does this mindful of the viewer of his pad but primarily for himself as he structures his research in a way that allows him to maximise its' value to him when he needs to revisit it over the duration of a brief. Another element of note with James’ researching is in the commentaries that accompany it. While like the other 2 students, he includes notes on his analysis of the research,  he also focuses quite closely on his anticipated ‘use’ of the research - how he envisages it influencing him. The girls do this to a degree also, but not with the same level of projection that James engages with.

With regard to the time spent on researching again all 3 said they found it to be a very time consuming activity. However, they also communicated that the value gained from the knowledge and its contribution to the creative development made it very worthwhile. Cat in particular felt the time spent researching needed to be reigned in for her, as she easily found herself spending too much time engaged in it. The other 2 students revealed that they spend a large amount of time on research in the initial stages of the brief in particular. Ita then drops in and out of it - pit stopping with it once the creative progress slows... using it to refuel and propel her forward once again. James seems to have a more steady approach to his research, very much keeping it running steadily in the background throughout the entire project; gathering visual examples; adding to his understanding of his audience by investigating brands that focus on similar target markets, and like I mentioned earlier his method of recording means he interleaves any new research in with earlier elements as he goes. Cat too does engage her research skills throughout, and does an enormous amount of investigation, particularly with the visual research – casting her net wide, she then seems to be a little more buffeted by her findings than the others who hone in on particular avenues at an earlier stage.

I also investigated how the students apply the research to the creative development  – which they all do as they go along. The 2 elements run side by side generally, rather than research being something that is conducted as a separate entity. In investigating how each student maps their research onto the various stages of the design process I again identified differences in approaches here, which I have outlined earlier in this writing, but one thing all 3 agreed on was the contribution that the research findings make to their design practice.

When researching models of design research earlier in BUZZ I came across the writing of Sir Christopher Frayling (see earlier “Researching Research’ post on this blog).  This led me to some analysis on the blurring between the act of researching and that of designing. This is something that emerged again in my observation of the students research activities and in discussions with them and is something I see myself touching on a little more now again in the closing weeks of BUZZ.

The primary research tools for the 3 was the Internet - specifically Google searches. Books and journals also featured. Ita, although at times reluctant, also utilised interviewing from time to time and found the more personal her tie to the interviewee or the subject the more she benefitted and enjoyed this method. Cat and James both gathered and collected visual references to use as a research, with James also citing music videos, films etc as a source of visual research and inspiration. The students focused heavily in this brief on visual research, particularly referencing historical research – looking at existing logo/packaging/web designs for the area they were investigating. They each also conducted primary research, investigating their areas through photography and sketching etc also.

With regard to the level of enjoyment the students get from researching, James and Ita both commented on how much they enjoy the researching process and the degree to which it fuels the project. Cat seemed to view it and appreciate it as part of the process but admitted that is feels like an ‘unnatural’ activity for her and she also can lose her way within it from time to time. The fact that it is a marked element within a brief didn’t hold much sway with them (thankfully) and they, all 3, very much saw its’ impact on the amount of learning they did within a brief.

Finally here, they all felt the research findings they made defined the parameters of the brief for them with every aspect of the design being affected by the discoveries made within the research. For example, they commented that it helped them to identify the visual culture of the target audience, and impact on use of space, colour, typeface choice, imagery and imagery treatments, format, copywriting language etc etc.

RESEARCH OUTCOMES AS I VIEW THEM SO FAR:

I am attempting in this writing to keep to the headings provided in the mail from Maria, although I have included some outcomes under the headings above – apologies but as time is against me the structure will have to remain!!
One further point I feel must be part of this analytical audit on the outcomes of the research is in relation to the impact of the researching on the student’s confidence. It unquestionably instills a sense of self-belief in themselves and their creative offerings, the ability to back things up when questioned, the depth of the rationale. Also this gives them a great sense of the inner beauty of their work, and while they may not achieve what they had dreamed of in a visual sense, the fact that they can ‘logic it out’ as a piece of work, that fundamentally the meaning underpinning the visual is undeniable, brings with it a satisfying sense of achievement for them.

In brief, the research brings to the students:

* meaning (as a thing of beauty); * confidence; * trust in their creative instincts; * a building of visual awareness; * a breath of knowledge.

For me, the research outcomes during BUZZ have revolved around a huge upswing in my  * knowledge bank on the working and researching methods of my students.

I feel that I have witnessed far more closely the degree of learning that students’ gain from conducting their own research and that has led me to *contemplate my own teaching approaches with regard to this element of the project. I have decided that in the early stages of year 3 that students would benefit from a brief where the researching aspect is more guided, particularly in relation to visual research, which I can see all the more so now, has huge impact in building the visual awareness within different design disciplines and in tuning the students into contemporary design styles, approaches. It is assumed that students instinctively know how to research but I’ve found that this is not always the case and that sources can be quite narrow and there tends to be an over reliance on internet searches – particularly Google. I intend on addressing this within my teaching syllabus going forward into the next academic year.

  

WHAT REMAINS TO BE DONE:

- upload student videos (in progress)  and sketch pad images to blog (or Voicethread  - see below)

- make final decision on final report format – still contemplating designing a summation piece of my BUZZ research, I have some outline sketches in place for this piece and a concept for it. However I am still wondering if my original report idea of producing a Voicethread might be a better option. In it I will include some of my student sketchpad images and videos with me voicing over my analysis and observation.

Both would encompass the individual experience of my student case study group along with capturing something of my own shared experience with the students and our collective researching activities. Obviously the Voicethread would be a more detailed and precise expression of my BUZZ analysis, but I am drawn to a less wordy report and interested in attempting to capture the essence of my BUZZ experience within a visual piece. I have been creatively producing on my own research within the REV 'creative output' and on into visual mapping piece I produced within COP, and so the prospect of continuing that is appealing - I will need to tease this out over my next tutorial. Which ever form the report takes it will feature elements of the patterning and cross referencing of the researching activity of the 3 students, and with my own researching activity also - a shared experience.

- Growing out of the more ethnographic approach undertaken in BUZZ I will, most likely, also revisit the effort to make my own classification of research. This in turn will possibly then lead onto rewriting the assessment criteria for the researching element of briefs within my teaching practice for the coming academic year also. 


– This would also include looking at the inclusion of a research focused brief for Semester 1 as outlined above.


These last 2 points would most likely be done post BUZZ and are elements that will materialise into the next academic year starting in September. They are elements affect my teaching practice growing out of the BUZZ experience.