The Role of Design in Research?

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Speaker
Tracee Wolf
Design Researcher, IBM T.J. Watson Research

When
-

Where
Newell-Simon Hall 1305 (Michael Mauldin Auditorium)

Description

Is there any design in research?
What is the role of a designer in a technology-oriented research organization?
Will a designer’s contributions be considered only a stylistic overlay?
Would a designer’s contributions only be considered useful for a very small subset of research activities?
Is design valued in research?

After joining IBM Research as a designer, I struggled with questions such as these. In short, I feared my career in research would be a short one if I couldn’t demonstrate that a designer could provide core value to any phase. Along the way, I’ve made some discoveries about the role of design in research, and I found some unexpected opportunities emerge.

In my talk, I will address the role(s) of design in research (using my own work to provide illustrative examples). I will talk about what makes research a different kind of venue for design, some lessons learned and adaptations I’ve made not only to my design skill set but also to my own set of expectations. I hope to provide a perspective that will help designers understand how they can contribute (or lead) on any level of research.

Speaker's Bio

Tracee Wolf is a designer with the Social Computing Group at IBM Research in Hawthorne, NY. She currently works with her group to create socio-technical solutions in interpersonal and collaboration technologies. Her degrees in Applied Design and Visual Communication (B.S.) and Architecture (Masters) have provided a basis not only for user-empathy and user-advocacy, but also solutions that acknowledge human needs and habits.

Host
Jodi Forlizzi