1.1. Primary And Secondary Research

Primary and secondary research is vital before beginning any research project. Starting a project without a computer allows your ideas and design approaches to be influenced by unconventional references, making you a more unique and adaptable designer. Research for a particular project can take weeks, and the process has an essential influence on the outcome. The more you invest in the beginning of the project, the more successful the result will be.

Consider the tools you will need for primary research: a sketchbook, camera, smartphone, pens, pencils, charcoal, viewfinders, a container for collected ephemera, etc. Don’t hold back—at the beginning of a project, this is an exercise in quantity over quality.

Tasks

Visit a public building close to your home. This could be a shop, library, hair salon, etc. With permission, observe and record the activities within this context, filling an empty sketchbook. Concentrate on what is happening before you while avoiding interfering with people’s everyday activities. Use your sketchbook to draw what you see and note what you hear. Document the items that people interact with. Think about the type of area and what you might expect to see, as opposed to the reality of what is there. Take your time. What do you know when you look intently?
When satisfied with what you have collected and documented, brainstorm what you saw and recorded. Note down the visuals (e.g. icons and signage, diagrams, drawings of people, sketches of the environment), but also moments when historical, social and political elements were found (e.g. discounted food items and what this means for the larger context of capitalism and food waste).
Once you have a substantial brainstorming session, start to analyse your findings and observations, find connections, and develop a concept. What was it about the experience that intrigued you most? What part of the experience do you want to share with others, and why? Continue to build up your research by adding secondary sources from the internet, libraries and archives.
When you feel you’ve researched in depth, begin to edit and curate the information to find the most interesting elements. Consider who might be most interested in your research or who will engage with it. Decide how you would best catch their attention and how the story should unfold.
It is useful to see what people do within your design’ context. With this in mind, consider how your research can be presented back in the environment you began in. Start with ideation, coming up with ideas. Do this by creating a series of sketches using your edited research. Generate as many thumbnail drawings as you physically can, and use words, images and collage materials you may have collected. When you have a series of five thumbnails you are pleased with, enlarge them, either by drawing them again or by using a copier, and clarify your intentions by writing a short descriptive paragraph on each one.
Choose one sketch and develop it into a format of your choice. Iterate this design until you are pleased with the outcome. The emphasis of this assignment is on the creative process, not the final project, so use your skills in observation and research as expansively as possible and consider all possible interpretations before you commit to a single idea or a particular form or media. It is always worth researching your chosen format or the format written in your brief.
Additional task: once you are happy with your outcome, return to the environment you researched and present the work to the people there for feedback. What do they think of your observations? Spend as much time as you can with these people, and aim to gain a firsthand understanding of habits, rituals and meanings around relevant activities and objects. Consider shadowing them to observe and understand their day-to-day routines, interactions and contexts. Collect this additional information and redesign your project with this in mind.