1. HND Photography/Digital Image Manipulation Introduction to Research Skills in Art & Design

2. What is research?
‘What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what kind of person you are’ C. S. Lewis

3. Observe and collect
Research should be specific to each project, the process of observation and recording your impressions should be ongoing, and should become a part of your daily routine. When something catches your eye, document it; capture an image and put it into your notebook/sketchbook/device for reference later. Everything you come into contact with can inform your work, so make sure you have a great collection of subject matter for inspiration.
Graphic Design School Thames and Hudson

5. In groups of 5 discuss and write down examples of what you think research is and what types of research there are.
You have 6 minutes to contribute to the group discussion, after which you will feedback your thoughts to the group.

6. Primary Research/Factual Research
Previous Knowledge/opinion/memory
Observation
Conversation
Interviews: in person or by , online chat or phone
Questionnaires
Ethnographic research (‘deep hanging out’)

7. Secondary Research/Factual Research
Museums, archives, collections
Newspapers, magazines, journal articles
Published interviews
Films, TV broadcasts, theatre
Transcript/recoding of film, TV, radio
Books
Music
Internet: blogs, websites, forums
Surveys
Lectures, public debates, conferences
Dictionaries/Thesarus

8. Primary Research/Visual Research
Photography
Drawing/sketching
Media experimentation: 2D and 3D
Typographic experimentation
Compositional experimentation
Image manipulation
Photocopying
Video recording
Audio recording
Writing

9. Jon Burgerman states that ‘I’m not sure I actually switch into a research way of thinking, it’s more of a continuous ongoing process involving keeping your eyes peeled at all times. For specific tasks I may go out to seek certain information. Google is a good lazy way of getting the ball rolling, though quite often the most interesting things are found away from the internet.’

10. Secondary Research/Visual Research
Exhibitions
Images/photographs from magazines, books, leaflets, internet, billboards
Work by other designers/photographers/artists
Printed maps/diagrams
Ephemera (e.g. tickets, receipts, packaging)
Found and bought photographs, postcards, drawings
Imagery taken from films, video performances

11. What is Research?