Guest Lecture, Martin Hosken
When Martin asked for our definition of research at the beginning of this lecture, mine was research is the pursuit of knowledge with the aim of bettering our understanding of the subject. I think I gave a broad definition but before listening to the rest of this lecture I don't think I thoroughly understood how much more there is to the subject of research. It was slightly ironic that towards the start, Martin said “A disproportionate amount of energy is spent trying to unpick and understand the language and terminology of academic research” and that was certainly true for me of this lecture. It was really fast paced with what felt like a landslide of terms and definitions within a short space of time.
Debate about the concept of knowledge has been going on for thousands of years. I am interested in using the theory of knowledge as a basis for how to conduct research and the effect the theory can have on the conclusions you can draw from this research. For example, if you go down an empiricist route, you would put more weight on the sense experience of people and not so much on the idea of innate knowledge as this cannot be observed.
Although I do feel that rationalism leaves more room for creativity. Empiricists believe that nothing can be created from scratch, things can be combined and separated but that is it; so I, as a designer, wouldn't have the possibility of creating something fresh and new because it is made up of pre existing parts. I guess you could assemble these parts in a different way but that seems more like making lego which, although fun, doesn't allow for the flexibility of true creativity.
This made me think of the Situationists from last weeks research, they also had the view that nothing was created it was just found and combined in different ways, in this way we could say that the foundation for situationism is empiricism; about the sense experience of people rather than abstract forms and morals. When researching the situationists I have found many quotes siting empirical evidence proving truth and a lack there of being a lie. Therefore Situationism is actually a branch of empiricism. Relating to design and process a positive I can see for taking an empirical approach is that you can gather evidence to prove your point; this is a much harder feat when trying to prove an abstract concept or innate knowledge. So if you make a decision based on empirical proof it is harder to refute because the evidence is there. Much of science is based on empirical evidence and a major advantage is being able to offer hard proof of your findings.
Rationalists however think that we experience ready made tools for creativity, Plato for example would say that we are in touch with the world of forms, an abstract reality, that provides lots of tools with which to create. I think this leaves more room for creativity because there is not a finite number of things you can combine; it is more about pre existing principles that have not been observed by people, instead they are innately known to us. For example, a ball doesn't fall to the ground because millions of people have seen it happen, it falls because of something we can't see - gravity. However, scientists still conduct experiments to prove their theories so is pure reason enough to state a case? If I went to a client saying I had innate knowledge of something unobservable they would require empirical evidence.
I think we need both of these theories to co-exist in order to get the most out of our experiences. I don't understand why you would limit yourself to a life without abstract thought and originality or a life without sensory experience. I think using both theories in tandem is a way to conduct robust research.
One thing I am definitely going to take away from this research is the CRAAP test. Whenever I am researching from here on out I am going to check:
C - Currency
R - Relevance
A - Accuracy
A - Authority
P - Purpose
In conclusion, every word has the potential to have 'ology' attached and become a research method.
Design Research: Methods and Perspectives
[1] I must admit I found this reading a bit of a slog - there was lots of detailed information about types of research and how they are conducted but I found it was presented in a pretty dense way. I found ethnography a really interesting concept because it was both new to me and it seems like a really in depth was of getting to know the people you are designing for and understanding how the thing you are designing might be used. It is qualitative research set within a design context and it aims to deliver results that inform and inspire design. What interested me about this method was that it builds on historical knowledge, you are not starting from scratch. Ethnography in relation to design means taking tried and tested methods and using them in a different context, ensuring the qualitative data you get is useful.
I want to take a current project I have at work - redesigning my company website - and apply theoretical ethnographic research to it. To understand how people use websites I think the most useful thing to do would be to use eye tracking on a large sample size to see where on our website people's eyes are drawn to and what is their process when looking for certain things. This could then be used to inform the user experience and drive interest in certain areas, for example the partnerships page or a donation button. Another form of ethnographic research that would be useful would be vox pops, people filming their opinions immediately after use. Although for this project ethnographic research would be very valuable, it would also take a lot of people, a lot of time and you couldn't always guarantee people are being truthful in their interviews. I think it would require a long period of time to get to the point of total honesty in certain situations.
This reading definitely gave me some interesting insight into research methods and although it was jam packed with technical terms I am definitely going to consider ethnography a strength during design research and process.
Creative Research; The Theory & Practice of Research for the Creative Industries
[2] I thought it was interesting that this started out by telling you to accept assumptions about the way you view the world, I always thought to start research you had to do your best to put assumptions to the back of your mind. Although if you are aware of assumptions you can then factor them into planning and methodology.
The part of this reading that really stuck with me was the grounded theory. This is because it is more than just descriptive and instead is used to generate abstract explanations of social processes. I like this theory because produces a lot of qualitative data while also recognising areas of contradiction and conflict. It also determines what actually happens so is extremely useful when considering design research - it can tell you the way people behave and why they behave that way. However, I feel like it doesn't have rules or historical context like ethnographic research does and also has the researcher embedded in the research. The results don't count for the skew offered by a researcher being present.
I enjoyed the reading in as far as learning new terms and considering the positives and negatives of research theories such as deduction and induction, positivism and interpretivism and the over arching theory of research paradigms.
Visual Research: An Introduction to Research Methods in Graphic Design
[3] I found this the most interesting reading this week. One of the things that struck me was that when people talk and write about graphic design it is more often than not about the end product. This pinpointed the way I feel in my job - the only thing that people are interested in is the thing you produce for them. This is possibly a symptom of working in a non-design environment, I work in a charity as the only designer, so process sometimes feels immaterial. This got me thinking is there a way to ensure that research is a considered part of a design timeline? When I get a deadline at work, people do not factor in time for research and evaluation, they just need the end product as soon as possible. I need to think of a way to make people understand the need for research within a project - whether that takes place in the form of a webinar or simply a line on my design commissioning form, this piece of reading has really made me consider this as a fundamental issue.
The design cycle was interesting too as it was a very simplified version of the different processes we were looking at earlier in the module. It set out the design process in a really simple way with a big emphasis on the research side of it. I think the reason it is more general is because as also stated in the reading, the field of design has expanded so much in recent decades. This process could include typography, written language, animation etc which is why I think a more general approach is easier to use and more inclusive.
Marjan van Aubel - Indoor Solar Light
[4] What I loved about this project from Marjan van Aubel was her ability to combine both qualitative and quantitative research. To create something that is not only technically sound but also exactly what people would want in their homes is not an easy thing to do and requires a lot of research. The light was developed in collaboration with The Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands with the aim of normalising solar technology by bringing it inside homes. [5]
In her TED Talk, [6] Marjan says that she got into solar power when she found out that every day within one hour we receive enough sunlight to provide the world with enough electricity for an entire year. It's interesting to me that one fact inspired someone to refocus their entire career. From this Marjan started to extensively research solar power and how she could use design to better the environment as well as people's lives.
Marjan started out by looking at quantitative research - asking questions such as how does solar power work, where on the house would get the best light and how can this energy be harnessed in the most effective way. She then moved onto qualitative research asking how people live, where and why they need light and how their experience in the home would be enhanced by having such an object. She used the trend of people taking pictures of sunsets to create a more accessible solar powered light, traditional solar panels are restricted to homeowners and people who can afford it; this light is much more accessible to most people.
By thoroughly researching both the product and consumers, I think Marjan has not only created something beautiful but also put solar energy at the forefront of people's minds. This could be used to encourage more people to think about where their energy comes from and how it is used. By putting so much into the research and creating something that people want, I think Marjan has a chance of making a tangible change to the environment. Could this be a way forward for charities, not for profits and environmentalists? While we do want people to consider environmental impact, not everyone does, so by creating something that people want regardless of the impact, then telling them it's actually good for the planet, could we encourage people who would not normally be concerned by this?
From this Marjan designed the solar light (pictured above). It is an oblong shape to echo the horizon has three settings depending on the time of day. I think the technical research as well as research on the people using the products is present in every part of the design. Not only does it function as an energy saving, solar powered light but it looks cool, definitely something people are going to want to hang in their houses.
Workshop Challenge
How do you approach research methodologies for your academic journey?
The aim of this week’s workshop challenge is to select and deploy appropriate research methodologies to inform a need within a project.
Choose an object you feel has a story to reveal.
Write a 300 word text acknowledging the texts that link to your writing.
My chosen object is the Queen piece from a chess set my Nan gave to me in 1999 (when I was 9). It means a lot to me because it has been in my family since the 1970's and I think it has an interesting story to tell. I have played many games of chess on this board over the years but it's more the historical significance of the set that I think will be interesting for this research project.
Questions
First thing is first, I need to know what questions I want to answer about my mysterious queen piece. in Doing Research in Design by Christopher Crouch and Jane Pearce they state the importance of asking questions. So I have decided to come up with 5 key questions I want to answer;
How did the chess set come into my family?
How did the crown get broken?
Why is the Queen the most powerful piece in chess?
What is the queen piece and board made from?
How did the piece get its look?
Qualitative Research
Narrative
How did the chess set come into my family?
How did the crown get broken?
Unfortunately my Nan passed away recently so I wasn't able to interview her about the history of the set. However I knew my mum and auntie would know a lot more than I do so I decided to take the narrative approach - conducting in depth interviews - to piece together the story of this chess set, and more specifically the broken Queen. Here is what I found out from talking to my mum and auntie combined with memories I have of the set.
The set had been in my family since the early 70's when my Grandad had been stationed in Germany with the Army. He had been playing poker one night with some friends and people who lived near by and won it from a Polish guard. He taught my mum, aunties and uncle how to play using the set and it became tradition that they played every Sunday.
This tradition got passed down to the Grandkids who would all spend weeks in the summer holidays in the small coastal town in Norfolk called Sheringham, where my Nan had settled after leaving Germany in the late 70's. We used to have 'super Sundays' which meant we played all the games in the house (Chess, Ants in the Pants and Frustration mainly). It was part of our family history by this point, we would play the games (a loose version of chess we named speed chess - pretty much draughts) before sitting down and having a Sunday dinner on different sized chairs sourced from all corners of the house.
In 1999 my Nan had been visiting Poland with my mum and Auntie, they went to Krakow and Warsaw on a week long adventure and she had taken the chess set for them to play in the airport. They had been playing waiting for their flight and had a sudden gate change, my Nan had tried to scoop up the set quickly but trapped the Queen in the hinge of the box, part of her crown was left on Krakow airport floor. While they had been away I had fallen off some monkey bars and broken my arm, when I met them at the airport with my older cousin my Nan saw how upset I was at having a cast and gave me the chess set telling me to keep it safe because it had been through a lot. It's been 21 years and it's still safe having lived with me in nine different houses.
I found this research really useful and was so happy I could fill in the blanks. From this narrative research I am going to change tact and research type to find out more about the Queen and chess set.
Historical Research
3. Why is the Queen the most powerful piece in chess?
One question I have always had about the chess board is how come the Queen is the most powerful piece on the board? Chess has been around since the 6th century, at that point in history and until relatively recently, women did not have power, men did, so how come this representation of a female has so much power in a game?
"Chess historians believe that the piece we call as the queen today was not originally known as the queen. It was originally called the "fers" or "advisor". Shockingly, it was one of the weakest pieces on the board as it could only move one square diagonally. The game of chess existed without the queen for so many years. In the 15th century, history took some turns. The game of chess moved to European countries and several revisions were made to the existing chess rules. Most importantly, revisions were made to the piece which we now know as the queen piece." (sportskeeda.com)
The poem above is from Chess Pieces by David Solway. [7] I thought it was beautifully written and an illustration of the power of the Queen piece, as it states in the first line, the game depends on the defence of the king. However, there are also other reasons for the domination of the Queen, one of these being the fact the Queen can control the most amount of squares at any one time. This has led to the Queen holding the most interest mathematically, thus being the most scientifically interesting piece on the board. [8]
4. What is the queen piece and board made from
I then decided to research the history of my particular chess set. All I knew is that it is originally from Poland and was made before 1970 as that was when it came into my family. [10] I searched the archives and Falmouth Library books and found out that the set is called a Wegiel Ambassador set which originated in Poland in 1964. The pieces are made of hornbeam and sycamore wood and the board is beech wood. The decoration was a technique called pyrography (burning on wood). The chessboard is hand-painted in natural colours and burned on wood. [12]
Design Research
5. How did the piece get its look?
I want to look at how the Queen piece got it's look. The first thing to remember is there was no such thing as the Queen piece until the 16th century. Previously the pieces had taken on the guise of the military however with the introduction of chess to Europe they then became representative of the royal court. [9]
The first standardised version was called the Staunton set. Howard Staunton was a tournament organiser in London and although the pieces were designed by an architect named Nathan Cook, they retained Staunton's name.
Cook used the influences of London architecture, buildings by Christopher Wren and William Chambers to develop their column like design (left).
While some variation is tolerated, there are several key distinguishing characteristics that define a set as a Staunton: the king is topped with a cross and, as the the tallest piece, serves as a metric for the height of the others; the queen is topped by a crown and ball; the bishop has a split top; the knight is a horse head; the rook is a squat castle turret. When chess gained popularity in Europe, more variations of the queen became available and my particular piece became a standard Polish piece. [13]
300 Words
I have decided to write this from the perspective of the Queen piece, I thought it would be an interesting take on the task and also a good way to use the research I had done which was a mix of historical, narrative and qualitative. I wanted to take on elements of constructivism - the Queen only has meaning because we give it that meaning - and create something from the chess piece's perspective, starting and ending with my family, the family that gave it that meaning.
Here we go...
I am the Queen. I am the most powerful piece on any board. I have a heart of sycamore and skin of hornbeam, sat atop my beechwood throne. My job is to protect the King but, if I’m taken, the game may already be lost. This duty used to belong to the Advisor to the King but, when my ancestors came to Europe from Asia, I took his place. I have been studied by many and revered by some; Netflix even made a show about me.
What I am is not as important as where I have been; that’s the story that should be told. I have been gambled by men, held by children and heard four generations of family secrets. I have travelled across the world and back again. I started in Poland; lived in England, Germany, Cyprus and Malaysia, I have been carried on trips all over the globe. I have seen children grow into adults and have children of their own. I have been thrown across rooms by warring cousins. In my own home, a wayward hinge almost lost me my crown – it will never be the same again. I have taught people how to play my game and sometimes they’ve taught me to play their games.
I was gifted to one of the children I watched grow up. She’s moved a lot but has never forgotten me. I felt her tears over a broken arm at ten years old and now over a broken heart at thirty, we all felt the recent loss of our matriarch. Otherwise, this is a happy home. I witness from my place on the coffee table, bizarre conversations, hysterical giggling, dancing in the kitchen and the all-round joy of just being alive.
I have spent, and continue to spend, a majority of my life around a family full of laughter, occasional arguments and love.
My Editorial
Process
I started off thinking about doing a modern, polish inspired editorial piece, for example the Wiktor Górka poster for Cabaret (left) from 1973. I thought this would be both a not to the origin of my chess set and the decade it came into my family. However, in the copy I have stressed the importance of my family, after all this is a constructivist exercise - assigning the meaning of the object is the only way for it to have any meaning. So I decided to make a chess board made from family photos to illustrate the importance of this.
I experimented with the typeface - at first going with a more modern chunky type by quickly changing to a more regal type as reference to my historical research. I also started out using the outline of my chess piece as an accent on the type, however the further I got into the design the more I realised I could use it in a more creative way - as a cut out of the chess board. I think this works nicely in illustrating the articular importance of the piece over the chess board.
Possible Versions
I then experimented with the colour of the chess piece and background. I liked the way the chess board of family photos looked. I initially had a white background with black writing then inverted the colours which I liked a lot more. I think it had a certain drama to it and made the chessboard stand out more. I then changed the colour of the chess pieces to be opposite to the background, the same colour as the writing. I think the black chess piece on the white background made the chess piece stand out a lot more however that's not what I'm going for with my text, I researched both the importance of the Queen and it's particular history with my family and while I used elements of both in the words I wrote ultimately the family history was more important to me. I did like the white
on black background so decided to experiment with both of these in a magazine mock up.
Final Piece
Ultimately I chose this version as my final piece. I really liked the way the family photos chess board stood out and the outline of the Queen was slightly more subtle but still there.
Summary
I started out quite skeptical about this week - research methods is something I have done before and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to dig deep and find it interesting. I thought the lectures and reading were quite definition heavy and hard to follow and remain interested in in places. However, when I started to do my own research, for example the Solar Lights by Marjan van Aubel did interest me which led me to think the application of research is an intriguing topic. Looking into the research behind the lights did help me when it got to the workshop challenge.
I really enjoyed the workshop challenge this week, I loved finding out more about something that I have just alway known. It was great reminiscing with my family about my Nan and being kids in Norfolk, it brought back so many forgotten memories. I also had no idea the chess set was won from a Polish guard in Germany or that the reason I inherited it was because of my broken arm - I thought my Nan just forgot to take it with her. I also really enjoyed doing the editorial piece, writing is not something I do often in this way so it was nice to do something different.
I am really pleased with my finished piece. I think given more time it would be great to add more pictures to the chessboard to show a wider range. I also need to redraw the outline of the chess piece as there are some inconsistencies in it. Overall though I am happy and I think it communicates exactly what I wanted it to - the importance of the chess piece in my family.
Peer Review and DIscussion
References
[1] Laurel, B. (Ed) (2003) Design Research: Methods and Perspectives. Massachusetts: MIT Press.
[2] Collins, H. (2010) Creative Research; The Theory & Practice of Research for the Creative Industries. Lausanne: AVA Publishing.
[3] Bestley, R. Noble, I. (2016) Visual Research: An Introduction to Research Methods in Graphic Design. London: Bloomsbury.
[4] Aubel, M. (2021). Work. Available: https://marjanvanaubel.com/. Last accessed 10/03/21.
[5] Hahn, J. (2021). Marjan van Aubel creates indoor solar light to usher in "solar democracy". Available: https://www.dezeen.com/2021/03/04/sunne-marjan-van-aubel-solar-lamp-design/. Last accessed 10/03/21.
[6] Aubel, M. (2018). The Beautiful Future of Solar Power. December 2018. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/marjan_van_aubel_the_beautiful_future_of_solar_power. Last accessed 10/03/21.
[7] Solway, D 1999, Hugh Maclennan Poetry Series : Chess Pieces, McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [10 March 2021].
[8] SOLWAY, David. 1999. Chess Pieces. Montréal [Qué.] ;: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
[9] Watkins, John J., and John J. J. Watkins. Across the Board : The Mathematics of Chessboard Problems : The Mathematics of Chessboard Problems, Princeton University Press, 2004. ProQuest Ebook Central
[10] Stamp, J. (2013). How the Chess Set Got Its Look and Feel. Available: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-the-chess-set-got-its-look-and-feel-14299092/. Last accessed 10/03/21.
[11] Crouch, Christopher, and Jane Pearce. (2012) Doing Research in Design, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
[12] Wegiel Chess. (2008). About Us. Available: http://www.wegiel-chess.com.pl/about.html. Last accessed 12/03/21.
[13] Chess the Game. (2021). Ambassador Chess Set. Available: https://chessthegame.com/product/the-ambassador-set/. Last accessed 10/03/21.
Comments