Design research is about understanding real people in the context of their everyday lives and then using what we learn to inspire our work. This loose definition may conjure up a narrow set of methods, but at IDEO, we’re broad in our approach: Design research here is not any one thing, and it’s informed by the passion and skills of our teams as much as any organizational process.
Glancing across the office, I see a colleague who is an incredible photographer and uses her craft to deepen our insights. In the other direction is a design researcher who creates amazing experience prototypes that help us learn about people and provide feedback on new concepts. In my case, I’ve adapted my background in applying sociological and anthropological methods in order to understand how people use digital media.