The History of Design Research Since the 1990s

This article presents content originally published in DesignMind, a design journal operated by frog. It is delivered through translation by Transmedia Digital Inc. under the supervision of Mr. Noriaki Okada of DentsuCDCExperience Design Department.

Design research has grown into an essential element, the very DNA of frog, from the practice of experience strategy to the frogImpact project. Our design research methodology analyzes problems, learns from human experience, collaboratively concretizes and creates knowledge and ideas... and rapidly iterates this process to design the present.

How has this approach evolved? Why has it become the means of thinking, planning, and creating in this digital age? Tracing its path from the early 1990s through the internet bubble, the New Economy, Web 2.0, design thinking, and the rise of social entrepreneurship reveals three distinct eras in the history of design research.

Each era reveals shifts in how we perceive the role of humanity within increasingly networked global lifestyles, alongside the reconstruction of "experience" through new design methods. The profound and extensive impact and growth of design accumulated through these trends significantly influenced the education of current and next-generation business leaders. This includes horizontal thinking and prototyping centered on user empathy—to create transformative products, pivot corporate cultures, generate measurable social impact, or achieve all three.

Era 1: Digitalization (1990s)

Shortly after intermediate technologies like voicemail and computers finally became commonplace in offices, the internet emerged. Email transformed interpersonal communication, both locally and globally. The rapid digital environment altered human behavior and expectations, sparking ideas for new tools to use in life and work.

Designing these tools required new ways of understanding how they would be used, putting pressure on traditional design fields lacking foundational theory or precedent. New methods, like ethnographic research, which seemed unconventional, began to gain support from designers and their respective industries.

The Second Era: Building Systems (Early to Mid-2000s)

 

As the "New Economy" developed, the first comprehensive digital infrastructure supporting global communication and commerce emerged. "Platforms" and "ecosystems" became essential elements of product/service strategy, where technology, partners, competitors, complementary companies, customers, and users collectively shaped experiences with tangible value. This gave rise to new design disciplines including information architecture, interaction design, design research, design planning, and experience design.

Qualitative criteria for user experience—“Is it convenient?” “Is it easy to use?” “Is it appealing?” “To what extent?”—began to play a formal role in evaluating user experience. Designers started documenting and publishing theories on how to interpret this collected qualitative data. This employed methods borrowed from the social sciences, which were gaining widespread acceptance.

The Third Era: Designer Orientation (Late 2000s to 2010s)

 

During the Great Recession of the late 2000s, most corporate project goals centered on innovation, seeking to harness creativity and climb out of deep holes. Most existing solutions were deeply entrenched and systematized throughout society's fabric, requiring companies pursuing innovation to develop new design-oriented skill sets.

Business schools took note, creating innovation-focused curricula that reduced reliance on analysis while incorporating lateral thinking. Large corporations revived or created design departments, and major strategy consulting firms acquired design companies to enhance their services. Corporate executives and management recognized the need to learn how to use design to quickly differentiate products and services.

Today, design thinking is established as a new theory and toolkit for achieving innovation in modern business. It received strong endorsement from design and business-related media channels. Specialized firms and business schools with design programs (Stanford, Harvard, Northwestern, etc.) began educating business leaders that design is a legitimate method for creating advanced, original products and services.

The upcoming fourth era...

Looking ahead, let's anticipate the next era of design research.

The rest of this article is available on the web magazine "AXIS".

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