Design and Digital Interaction : Re:Research, Volume 7 (Re:research)

Just as the term design has been going through change, growth and expansion of meaning, and interpretation in practice and education – the same can be said for design research. The traditional boundaries of design are dissolving and connections are being established with other fields at an exponential rate. Based on the proceedings from the IASDR 2017 Conference, Re:Research is an edited collection that showcases a curated selection of 83 papers – just over half of the works presented at the conference. With topics ranging from the introduction of design in the primary education sector to designing information for Artificial Intelligence systems, this book collection demonstrates the diverse perspectives of design and design research. Divided into seven thematic volumes, this collection maps out where the field of design research is now. From Software Engineering to Information Design • Yvette Shen Most academic methodologies are developed from a prescribed methodological process that is limited to a specific area of study. However, the disciplinary landscape in which the knowledge is established is being rapidly reconfigured. Given the vast varieties of practices and knowledge base required from information designers, it is even more crucial for them to look outside of the traditional visual design fields and seek diversities for better research and creation methods. The two disciplines, software engineering and information design, are often perceived as one provides technical solutions to the other. This essay intends to move beyond the common perception, and identify relevant issues in software engineering design that resonate with the information design process. The issues include the multi-component planning approach; the human-oriented agile method; design concepts such as abstraction, decomposition, component modularity, hierarchical relationship and extensibility. The perspectives from software engineering design and information design is examined through un