THESIS Y4 : INTRO TO
YOU: This is essentially a graduation bootcampthe course work will consist of a mixture of reading, writing, watching, making, listening and discussion .
ME: Over a duration of 30 hours and several exercises built around Case Studies of exemplary Research ‘Thinking’ (i.e, Doing + Writing) from around the world, I will help you develop your own approach to Design Research Praxis .
WE: Finally, the class will demonstrate their learnings to the Course Leaders/ Heads by EOD on the 24 th (format TBD) .
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Course Outl
a .Thesis Thinking b .Beginning Research
.Independent Research
PURPOSE OF A THESIS
Eco, Umberto. How to write a thesis.
?? Why a
MIT Press, 2015.
a
(WHY) DO DESIGNERS HAVE TO BE SCIENTIFIC TODAY?
Alain Badiou. From the book ‘Infinite Thought’, page 79.
a
“THINKING IS THE SAME THING AS RESPONSIBILITY”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SCIENTIFIC?
Umberto Eco. From the book ‘How to Write a Thesis’, pages 26-32.
The research deals with a specific object, defined so that others can identify it.
The research says things that have not yet been said about this object, or it revises the things that have already been said from a different perspective.
The research ... advances the knowledge of the community, and [] all future works on the topic will have to take it into consideration, at least in theory.
The research provides the elements required to verify or disprove the hypotheses it presents, and therefore it provides the foundation for future research.
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EARN RESPECT SMARTLY
Glenn Adamson’s Review: “Who is Victor Margolin to attempt such a Broad Topic?”
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SELF-TRAINING IN MOVING FROM INTEREST TO EXPERTISE
In 1841, his thesis uncovered the foundations of our contemporary scientific theories of uncertainty - ie, (Hendrik) Lorentz (1904) γ and electrical theory of matter, Bohr and Quantum Theory (1913); Heisenberg and the Uncertainty Principle (1927); (Edward) Lorenz (1963)
Attractors and Chaos Theory] - “but prior to [his] emphasis on this point, the difference was seen as largely meaningless …”
Kojin Karatani. From the book ‘_____’, page 7.
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WRITING (NOTES) FOR DESIGNING
a
Abhinav Mishra. TextSurfing. 2023
a Umberto Boccioni. States of Mind I: The Farewells. 1911
RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT?
THEORY: A HYPOTHESIS ON EXISTENCE a
Mark Lombardi. George W. Bush, Harken Energy, and Jackson Stephens. 1979-90. 1999.
STORY: A WAGER ON POSSIBILITY AT THE LIMITS OF KNOWLEDGE
B.R. Ambedkar. From the book ‘BAWS Vol 7’, pages 244-5.
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re onsible
SO WHAT IS WRITING? WHY WRITE?
a
Jean-Luc Godard. Pierrot Le Fou. 1965.
SUMMARY: THESIS MINDSET
We want to be “authors, editors and form-givers” of ideas. 1 To be professional is to learn how to break the rules of a research area masterfully, in a way that others can understand our intent and objectives, to build on our contribution to the community. (The root of the word “profess” (v.) is to “declare openly”/share publicly your craft)
HW 1: Researching between two Papers - Uncovering your own story
1. Burdick, A. (1993). What Has Writing Got to Do with Design. Eye , 9 (3). Retrieved Jan 21, 2023, from: https://www.eyemagazine.com/opinion/article/what-has-writing-got-to-do-with-design
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THE REAL WORLD:
WHERE YOU ARE DESIGNING
economics, social change, behaviour change, political change
b
TECHNOLOGY IS A FIELD OF RELATIONS!
What are you pay g for when you
What fra ructure mobil ed when you
buy data? give a voice command?
b
NARRATIVE: DIEGETIC PROTOTYPE
Extrapolation from today into 2054 (scientific extrapolation through research)
The Gap! This is where your Hypothesis on existence in that world comes in
Story of how your object works in that world
b
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Steven Spielberg. Minority Report. 2002.
No Wider Discourse without Immersion (only one-on-one Disagreement)
b
WHY YOU WANT TO DESIGN Commercial Responsible Experimental Discursive None None None High Julia Lohmann. Lasting Void Stool. 2007
INTENTION:
Communication = Narrative with Intention
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APPROACHING A DESIGN RESEARCH AREA
Designing for the Real World Scientifically - First Principle Thinking
Commercial Responsible Experimental Discursive Low None High None Deepak Mallya . Aerium. 2019 b
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GENERATIVE DESIGN: MATERIALS RESEARCH
What areas should I be research g?
Shumon Basar et al. From the book ‘Age of Earthquakes’, page 70.
b
HOW TO START FROM WHY & NOT WHERE ( YOU WANT TO DESIGN)
b
Deepk Mallya. Tyre Collective. 2019
TRAINING TO BECOME SCIENTIFIC DESIGN RESEARCHERS
Earn credibility smartly (for the jury)
Move from your interest to the sweet spot that you can master .
Train yourself to be professional & scientific (for life!)
Refine your research topic so that real-world communities-of-knowledge care about it. Make your proposal ready to “declare openly”/ share publicly your craft (The root of the word ‘profess’ (v.)).
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> > use r -pr c les th k g
a funnel approach
use
I am Interested in Why might it be important? ... because ... because
broad topic
hypotheses
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TAP INTO YOUR DEEP INTEREST ...
FROM INTEREST TO RAPID RESEARCH
I am Interested in
Why is it important?
... because
... because
What is actually?
How does it work?
What are the parts I can explode it into?
Which system is it part of?
Where is it in a system view?
Where did the initial applications/cases start? Why?
Who is leading the research on it/application of it?
Do they say it is needed/problematic? Do the stakeholders say it is needed/problematic?
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> > > > > > hypotheses d cussion
cite:
8 broad topic zoomedzoomed-out collect
clarify
}
+
MLA
sources
hypotheses
RESEARCH QUESTION = FOCUS + INTENTIONALITY
I am working on/studying (+action words: push for hyper growth, experience of ... ) ... because ( refined importance to you as a designer)
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> > focused topic re ned hypothes Commercial Responsible Experimental Discursive
Juicy Salif Tyre Collective Aerium Cambio Tharp, B. M., & Tharp, S. M. (2022). Discursive design: critical, speculative, and alternative things. MIT press.
WRITE YOUR RESEARCH ABSTRACT (<200 WORDS)
I am working on/studying (+action words: push for hyper growth, experience of ... )
focused topic
... because ( refined importance to you as a designer)
This is important because ...
Reason 1
Evidence 1 (+ In-Text Citation 1)
Reason 2
Evidence 1 (+In-Text Citation 2)
So what? Why should real-world communities care about it?
/ / / /
a pro table solution
someth g useful, usable & re onsible
someth g exploratory but scienti cally plausible
someth g re onsible that itiates a d cussion
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re ned hypothes
VISUALIZE THE PROBLEM/ THE SCIENCE BEHIND YOUR FOCUSED TOPIC
What is actually?
How does it work?
What are the parts I can explode it into?
Which system is it part of?
Where is it in a system view?
Where did the initial applications/cases start? Why?
Who is leading the research on it/application of it?
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> > > v ualize d cussion +summarize (<200 words) + cite: MLA 8 zoom zoom out collect sources }
HOW CAN YOU MAKE THIS WRITING A FOUNDATION FOR DOING?
Find design/art/activist projects or initiatives who have worked with some part of your visualized problem / scientific break-down
> quick precedent udy
Relevant takeaway for your project
Relevant takeaway for your project
Relevant takeaway for your project
Relevant takeaway for your project
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Project 1 Project 2 Initiative 1 Initiative 2
DESIGN RESEARCH PROPOSAL: POSTER ABSTRACT
Research Ab ract
Focused Topic + Intention + So-what
D cussion Summary
Zoomed + Zoomed Out
References
Sources MLA8 format (alphabetically sorted)
V ual ation + Precedents
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20-24 FEB 2023 @ STRATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN. BANGALORE Thank You! It’s been a pleasure work g with you all shiraziq@gmail.com >
