This paper discusses the methods practitioner-researchers use to analyse written texts.
Much attention towards the written word in design discourse is directed at typography –
how words are used visually to communicate meaning. This paper considers the written
word from a different perspective. Here, we aim to reveal how designers analyse written
texts for research and ideation. We describe a range of methods we have developed
through our own research and practice, as well as analytical approaches other
practitioner-researchers use.
There are many approaches to the analysis of texts – for example, semiotic (Kress and van
Leeuwen 2001, 2006), content (Krippendorff 2004), discourse (Gee 1999) and more
recently visual methods (Rose 2007). However, we are specifically interested in the
methods designers use to draw out ideas, understanding and inspiration from written texts
– a focus that is not directly addressed by any of these existing approaches. Importantly,
many of the methods we describe here are widely used in design practice, but are not
acknowledged or reported to be useful in a research context. Therefore, it is valuable to
reframe these practice-based methods within a research context and claim their scholarly
contribution.
In this paper, we describe three approaches to analysing written texts, which we have
named Visual Abstraction, Focused Data-mining and Exploratory Data-mining. Each
approach is supported with examples and anecdotes by practitioner-researchers; ourselves
and others. Examining our own work allows us to trace initial text analysis through to final
design/research outcomes, illustrated with examples from the entire process. To conclude,
we discuss why these methods are a meaningful contribution to design scholarship.
DRS 2012 Bangkok
Much attention towards the written word in design discourse is directed at typography –
how words are used visually to communicate meaning. This paper considers the written
word from a different perspective. Here, we aim to reveal how designers analyse written
texts for research and ideation. We describe a range of methods we have developed
through our own research and practice, as well as analytical approaches other
practitioner-researchers use.
There are many approaches to the analysis of texts – for example, semiotic (Kress and van
Leeuwen 2001, 2006), content (Krippendorff 2004), discourse (Gee 1999) and more
recently visual methods (Rose 2007). However, we are specifically interested in the
methods designers use to draw out ideas, understanding and inspiration from written texts
– a focus that is not directly addressed by any of these existing approaches. Importantly,
many of the methods we describe here are widely used in design practice, but are not
acknowledged or reported to be useful in a research context. Therefore, it is valuable to
reframe these practice-based methods within a research context and claim their scholarly
contribution.
In this paper, we describe three approaches to analysing written texts, which we have
named Visual Abstraction, Focused Data-mining and Exploratory Data-mining. Each
approach is supported with examples and anecdotes by practitioner-researchers; ourselves
and others. Examining our own work allows us to trace initial text analysis through to final
design/research outcomes, illustrated with examples from the entire process. To conclude,
we discuss why these methods are a meaningful contribution to design scholarship.
DRS 2012 Bangkok
