The Interaction Design Research Triangle of Design Practice, Design Studies, and Design Exploration

Daniel Fallman's 2008 Design Issues paper argues that interaction design takes a holistic view of the relationship between designed artifacts, the people exposed to them, and the social, cultural, and business context in which that encounter takes place. To make sense of the range of research activity this holistic view produces, Fallman proposes a two-dimensional "research triangle" with three extremes: design practice, design studies, and design exploration. Activities positioned at different points in this triangle can use similar methods, techniques, and tools, but differ chiefly in tradition and perspective. Fallman argues that these three kinds of activity, taken together, are what establish interaction design research as a discipline in its own right. Credits: Fallman, D. (2008). The Interaction Design Research Triangle of Design Practice, Design Studies, and Design Exploration. Design Issues, 24(3), 4-18. Also listed as: Fallman, D. (2008). The Interaction Design Research Triangle of Design Practice, Design Studies, and Design Exploration. Design Issues, 24(3), 4–18. http://doi.org/10.1162/desi.2008.24.3.4