RESEARCH
‘Many hands make light work,’ is a proverb that resonates with an ever-expanding global design community, whose reflective contributions to journals, lectures, conference, publications and educational programs has increased exploration and broadened the scope of research in design. An integral part of the design practices and essential to problem-solving through enquiry and questioning, which results in solutions, outcomes and debates (Noble, 2016).
I have researched and analysed the resources this week and created what I can effectively term a Research Toolbox to categories and understand the process.
The key pillars of research methodology are Curiosity, Philosophy and Methodology.
Curiosity – How do we approach knowledge
My design career builds on the foundations of an enate curiosity for life and creation, so it seems appropriate that the research journey begins here. Research evokes a sense of curiosity and plays with your imagination to gain knowledge and realise something you didn’t before (Hosken, n.d).
Philosophy – How do we arrive at and categorise knowledge
Philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence.
Knowledge is arrived at through a continuous debate between the Rationalists who favour reason and the Empiricists who prefer sense experience.
Knowledge categories are metaphysics, aesthetics, ethics and epistemology.
Metaphysics asks questions around our sense of reality and the nature of being.
Aesthetics asks questions about the nature of beauty.
Ethics asks questions on how we conduct ourselves.
Epistemology investigates the nature of knowledge itself (Hosken, n.d).
Methodologies – A system of methods used to collect knowledge
The two main methods used in methodology are quantitative and qualitative (Hosken, n.d).
Quantitative research involves collecting and analysing numerical data for statistical analysis.
Qualitative research involves collecting and analysing non-numerical data to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences (Base and research, 2020). With my vocation being packaging design, I find this research style more relevant, comprising interviews, recordings, participation focus groups and ethnography to learn about the people who buy and use the products I design.
Focus Groups are used to develop or improve products by providing data to enhance, change or create products for a critical customer group (Lotich and Lotich, 2020). Including traditional, mini, 1-on-1, dyad, triad, supergroups and party groups (Hosken, n.d).
In 2018 I was tasked with designing chocolate packaging for the brand Amazeballs. Quantitative research already conducted narrowed our target market to a middle class, aspirant African woman whose buying power made up a ninety-per cent market share. Qualitative research utilising a focus group provided the ‘why’ behind attitudes and preferences (Thomas, 2020). Smaller snack packs that fitted in handbags and desks were preferred. Vibrant colours of pink and purple were favoured as they reflected a rich African culture. Typography should be gold to showcase their aspirations. Designs shouldn’t be childlike or too sophisticated but somewhere in between. The insight from this focus group shaped my design and prototypes were later showed to the group to refine the design direction further. The result was one of the most on-point, targeted items of packaging I have ever created.
Ethnography is a research approach of observing and interacting with people to garner their behaviour, beliefs and preferences in their natural environment. These included field ethnography, digital ethnography, photo ethnography and ethnofuturism.
Field Ethnography has a researcher observe people as they go about their lives.
Digital Ethnography uses digital mediums to observes people as they go about their lives.
Photo Ethnography gives a person a camera and asks them to capture life as they experience it.
Ethnofuturism combines digital ethnography with culture and future perspectives.
Real World builds environments for people to interact within.
Participation methods involve consumers in developing the brand they will be buying. These included Development Panels and In-home Placement.
Development Panels have people contracted for a time to give feedback on a product.
In-home Placement gives people a product in development to interact with and provide feedback (Nobel, 2016).
The ethnology chart in Brenda Laurels, Design Research: Method and Perspectives, contextualises and explains ethnography through the visual use of a simple diagram. At a glance, you can see where your research methodology is focused (Laurel, 2003). I am to the right of the graph, in both the visual and verbal qualitative quadrants as I would suspect most creatives are.
Fig. 1: Massachusetts MIT Press, 2003.
A quick summary of my ‘Toolbox’ is to approach research with a sense of curiosity, to draw on a universal wealth of knowledge, to engage with an experience, reflect and then record observations.
ANALYSIS
Reflect, analyse and understand research methodologies, management and perspectives concerning packaging design.
Packaging design research is now more critical than ever before in history, with the majority of brands receiving marginal media and advertising support. The retail packaging is the advertising campaign! In a matter of seconds, as the consumer walks down the aisle or at the point of purchase, the retail packaging must attract attention by standing out on a shelf, tell the brand story and evoke positive purchase interest over and above that of the competition.
I have used Matt Cooke’s structured methodology rationale for visual thinking based on his schematic diagram of the design process, together with a step-by-step, transferable system for the construction and testing of products to take you through my packaging design process of reflection, analysis, research methodologies, management and perspectives. This is a great reference to make sure all avenues of the design process are covered (Nobel, 2016). I do, however, feel that most clients, regardless of the rational, would prefer to be part of the design process and direction, from its conception, through to execution. This does results in a series of visual proposals and variations but also creates something unique after the client and designers input is amalgamated.
Fig. 2: London Bloomsbury, 2016.
Define – Establish the brief
Who is the target audience? What you put on the shelf must resonate with the right people. Colours, packaging, displays and messaging all tie into the emotional connection that drives purchase decisions and the consumer experience (Henderson, 2020).
What problems or needs does the brand need to address? Is it a bespoke brand that now needs to live in a retail space? Does the brand need to capture more market share?
Start with the end in mind. What is the clients budget, printing process, production, packaging substrate and target market visual language? The design you would create for a glass label is different from that of a shrunk wrap PET bottle. The design for a range of products that allow for a two colour print is vastly different from that of a full-colour photography execution. Knowing the parameters enables the creation of something unique within those boundaries instead of a cut and paste job that results from adapting and changing halfway through the project.
Divergence – Shape the direction the brand will take
When a new packaging design is created or redesigned, the process should begin with qualitative research, so that the packaging design is informed by a better understanding of the consumer motivations, knowledge levels and perceptions (Thomas, 2020) while setting goals and objectives (Thomas, 2020). What is the driving force behind their attitudes and preferences? Purchase decisions stem from a feeling, or emotional response and designers need to capitalise on the consumer experience (Henderson, 2020) as effective design elicits an emotional reaction.
The qualitative research should involve an ethnographic component like field ethnography that observes the shopper in their natural retail environment. How much time do they spend in front of the display? How many packages do they pick up? How many shoppers read the label details? What are the sizes of packaging purchased? Store visits can garner questions based on observation to be used in focus groups and interviews at a later stage (Henderson, 2020).
The use of test shelves filled with a competitor and proposed packaging for people to interact with demonstrates real-world ethnography. It can gain essential feedback as to whether your product is superseding that of your competitors.
The visual reference of the shelf and competitor products also provides unique insight to both designer and client on the direction a brand should take. A brand needs to set itself apart from the competition. If all competitor products are dark, design something light and bright.
In-depth interviews and focus groups should be established to uncover the primary motivations and perceptions that drive brand choice and can give insight into core users or prospective users. Are respondents aware of brand names, do they buy based on the colour and design of the packaging? Who are the key competitors in this category? Insights into the shopping experience and brand choice process can also influence design decisions. The participation method of sampling can provide consumer feedback and perspective on the brand itself (Thomas, 2020).
Helping define and set the correct goals at the outset of the design process is the single most important contribution of research. Once the design goals are set, the packaging designers are ready to go to work (Henderson, 2020).
Transformation – Designing the product
The design or prototype is created based on the analysis and understanding of the initial process and research collated thus far. The designer is then free to develop with a wealth of knowledge and insight to guide them.
Another round of qualitative research through focus groups, participation and ethnography, can also be used to test products and refine them before the final product is produced (Nobel, 2016).
Conversion – Print and launch
The roll-out of the product should be backed by strategic and targeted marketing (Nobel, 2016). The effectiveness and results can be measured using quantitative research, enabling tweaks and refinements to forthcoming line extensions.
When design research is integrated into the design process, new and unexpected creations emerge (Laurel, 2003).
WORKSHOP CHALLENGE
Research
The emotional reasoning that led me to choose a garden gnome as my object had me curious (the first research methodology pillar) about the journey this object would lead me on. My research led to debates, and further questioning, which brought about knowledge and insights I didn’t realize would even be part of the story.
I conducted qualitative research through oral histories, group interviews and archival collections. Garden magazines and blogs provided an exciting insight into the past and mythology of a garden gnome, but the critical narrative began to form through the personal experiences I uncovered.
I established a set of questions that formed the springboard to my investigation. Do you have a garden gnome, and what is its’ name? Where did you get your garden gnome? Can you send me a picture of your garden gnome? What story does your garden gnome have to tell?
These were sent out to my friendship circles via text message and Facebook posts. The feedback turned into telephone calls, text exchanges, secondary source stories and interviews. I didn’t structure these but instead, let each person tell their unique story which allowed my objects narrative to take shape.
Sketchbook research for workshop challenge - Week 7.
Garden Gnomes – A Catalyst to Adventure, Imagination and Story-Telling
Garden gnomes are lawn ornament figurines of small humanoid creates. They are steeped in mythology and folklore that suggests these cheery, mischievous creatures come alive at night to work in the garden and protect them from evil spirits. The narrative lies, in the stories, adventures, emotional connections and cultural influences gnomes inspire.
Their rich history began in the second century AD when the Roman emperor Hadrian had hermits living throughout his villa and evolved into miniature men with pointed hats, round bellies and white beards known as Gartenzwerge in the 19th-century. The gnome sensation began in 1847 when Sir Charles Isham brought 21 gnomes to England to adorn his 90-foot rockery.
These fanciful creatures have inspired the imagination of the world over. Movies and children's books have featured gnomes, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Gnomeo and Juliet and the South African favourite Dawie die Kabouter that my friend Eric Janse van Rensberg brought to my attention. Lorri Trewhella, a studying colleague, recounted her favourite book Gnomes, written by Wil Huygen and illustrated by Rien Poortvliet that she still re-reads today.
Cultural movements have arisen from the controversy between those who love and adore gnomes and the arbiters of taste who see them as unsightly, tasteless, and unsophisticated. The French Garden Gnome Liberation Front was founded to free all garden gnomes from slavery so they could see the world.
The social phenomena of Gnoming is a process whereby gnomes are kidnapped and then taken to see the world and exotic locations. They are photographed in places like the Taj Mahal, and Sphinx then returned to their owner with a photo book detailing their adventures. I learned of Jerome Gnome through my friend Darren Richards. The ceramic gnome, with a painted on South African jersey and a cutout beer hole, serves as a drinking buddy and is taken to pubs the world over. Jermoegnomeza had his own Instagram account and mass following who are eager to see what adventure is around the next corner.
I learned my friend and landscaper; Grant Filmore would practice Gnome-napping whereby he relocated Gnomes in thriving gardens, to those that needed a little extra care.
This sentiment is also the reason a lot of gnomes are given as house gifts. My next-door neighbour Tracy Hirst told me the story of Bob, the garden gnome her parents had gifted her in her new home after her divorce. My Swedish friend Emil Silverberg gifted gnomes as house-warming presents to members of his special forces team so they could use them as target practice, a process seen to free a gnomes spirit by smashing them. At least gnome spirits are lively and plentiful in Sweden.
A gnome is a catalyst to adventure, imagination and story-telling that brings joy far and wide.
Garden Gnomes – A Catalyst to Adventure, Imagination and Story-Telling PDF editorial transferred onto a magazine layout.
The workshop challenge evolved from this point into an editorial that resembled a children's storybook, as it was, in essence, a collection of all the stories my friends and family had told me over the week.
Garden Gnomes – A Catalyst to Adventure, Imagination and Story-Telling Storybook.
REFLECTIONS
'To gain knowledge, use research to evoke a sense of curiosity & play with your imagination to realize something you didn't know before (Hosken, 2020).' This statement by Martin Hosken at the start of week seven's lecture was a pivotal element to my approach and attitude this week.
The workshop challenge, in particular, was inspired by my youthful playfulness and love of stories. The investigations leaned more towards qualitative research through interviews and text exchanges with friends and family. Brenda Laurel said the research could bring about a solution or more questions along your problem-solving journey (Laurel, 2003), and I found each interview or conversation led to more questions that would shape the narrative as I went. This culminated in a storybook inspired editorial layout, one of my preferred design executions.
This weeks' resources and material were very academic and felt-like material to be studied instead of reflected on. I uncovered through Laurels Ethnography and Critical Design Practice Chart (Laurel, 2003) and Matt Cooke's illustrated schematics (Nobel, 2016) that I learn and understand better when I can read the text and look at a visual simultaneously. I now print out my resource and lecture notes before watching them on-screen to absorb the information more effectively.
Feedback from Harriet this week had me refining my technique and blog set up approach. I structured sections into categories and tried to show my process in more details through sketchbooks. In the past, I have relied on my head to unravel and piece together information, but this subtle change has left with a resource for later reflection and a tool to speed up my process. I managed to spread my time out more evenly between the research, analysis and workshop challenge, but I can still work on cutting down the overall time spent on each week.
As in life, I just seem to have too much to say.
Reference: Laurel, B. (Ed) (2003) Design Research: Methods and Perspectives (Links to an external site.). Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Reference: Collins, H. (2010) Creative Research; The Theory & Practice of Research for the Creative Industries (Links to an external site.). Lausanne: AVA Publishing.
Reference: Bestley, R. Noble, I. (2016) Visual Research: An Introduction to Research Methods in Graphic Design (Links to an external site.). London: Bloomsbury.
Reference: Hosken, M. Research Methodologies, Module GDE710 Contemporary Practice.
Reference: Thomas, J., 2020. Qualitative Package Design Research Reveals Key Consumer Insights. [online] packagingdigest.com. Available at: <https://www.packagingdigest.com/packaging-design/qualitative-package-design-research-reveals-key-consumer-insights> [Accessed 4 November 2020].
Reference: Lotich, P. and Lotich, P., 2020. What Is The Purpose And Advantages Of Focus Group Interviews?. [online] Social Media Today. Available at: <https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/what-purpose-and-advantages-focus-group-interviews> [Accessed 7 November 2020].
Reference: Base, K. and research, A., 2020. What Is Qualitative Research? | Methods & Examples. [online] Scribbr. Available at: <https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/qualitative-research/> [Accessed 7 November 2020].
Reference: Thomas, J., 2020. Qualitative Package Design Research Reveals Key Consumer Insights. [online] packagingdigest.com. Available at: <https://www.packagingdigest.com/packaging-design/qualitative-package-design-research-reveals-key-consumer-insights> [Accessed 4 November 2020].
Reference: En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Lawn Ornament. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn_ornament> [Accessed 8 November 2020].
Reference: The History of Garden Gnomes. 2020. Garden Gnomes In Popular Culture. [online] Available at: <https://historyofgardengnomes.weebly.com/garden-gnomes-in-popular-culture.html> [Accessed 7 November 2020].
Reference: Parhad, E., 2015. The Story Behind Garden Gnomes Is More Compelling Than You Might Think - Garden Collage Magazine. [online] Garden Collage Magazine. Available at: <https://gardencollage.com/wander/gardens-parks/gnome/> [Accessed 7 November 2020].
Reference: Richards, D., 2020. Jerome Gnome Interview.
Reference: Van Rensberg, E., 2020. Dawie Die Kabouter Interview.
Reference: Hirst, T., 2020. House Warming Gnome Gift Interview.
Reference: Van Rensberg, E., 2020. Dawie Die Kabouter Interview.
Reference: Silverberg, E., 2020. Gnome Shooting Practice Interview
Reference: Kelly, C., Wilkinson, G., Atwell, S., 2020. Facebook Gnome Questionaire.
Figure 1: Massachusetts MIT Press, 2003. Design Research: Methods And Perspectives. [image] Available at: <https://msudrmspring2017.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/plowman-reading-clean.pdf> [Accessed 7 November 2020].
Figure 2: London Bloomsbury, 2016. Visual Research - An Introduction To Research Methods In Graphic Design. [image].
Figure 3: Travel like Anna, 2020. London, England. [image] Available at: <https://www.travellikeanna.com/alfred/> [Accessed 8 November 2020].
Figure 4: Travel like Anna, 2020. White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. [image] Available at: <https://www.travellikeanna.com/alfred/> [Accessed 8 November 2020].
Figure 5: Travel like Anna, 2020. Agra, India. [image] Available at: <https://www.travellikeanna.com/alfred/> [Accessed 8 November 2020].
Figure 6: Travel like Anna, 2020. Machu Picchu, Peru. [image] Available at: <https://www.travellikeanna.com/alfred/> [Accessed 8 November 2020].
Figure 7, 8: The Gnome, J., 2020. Jerome The Gnome. [image] Available at: <https://twitter.com/jeromegnomeza> [Accessed 8 November 2020].