Design Research

ITU’s Design Research cluster offers internationally-recognized research and teaching in interaction design, based in three research groups. Together, we make things and use them to construct new research knowledge in applied and experimental settings. Our methods include co-design, expertise in materials, and fabrication. We publish in top conferences and journals, participate in exhibitions, appear in the popular press, and deploy our work in the real world. Alongside a strong international network, our collaborators include industrial partners, the public sector and community groups.

Research in the cluster contributes to design theory and practice through:

• speculative and critical perspectives posing questions that demand physical experiments, produce new forms of interactions, and new computational expressions (IxD);
• explorative design addressing affective and emotional aspects of living with digital and interactive technologies across specific use contexts and domains (AIR);
• co-design and active user involvement to design and construct digital things that fit real needs, and develop state-of-the-art methods for user involvement (Co-Design).