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Work by Carmona et al has supported the national drive for better design in the built environment, helping to mainstream ideas about the importance of urban design and develop tools for design governance. A major strand of this research has focused on the use and potential of design codes in England, and has been a major contributor to their widespread adoption. As a result, by 2012, some 45% of local authorities and 66% of urban design consultants had used design codes.
Design thinking has benefited the economic performance of business and particularly the creative industries, changed awareness of design in everyday life, and informed public policy. Users and consumers have benefited from wider understanding of the genesis of products and services and effects on their quality of life. Design thinking research has been instrumental in forming a new business sector that provides design thinking expertise as consultancy. It has changed the processes of designers and design practices, and fed into UK design education policy. Design thinking has crossed discipline boundaries; for example framing new methods and processes in software engineering.
Developed through a sustained partnership with the V&A that began in 1996, researchers at the University of Brighton (UoB) have transformed the curatorial and museological approach to the collecting, display and interpretation of 20th- and 21st- century design in one of world's largest public museums. They have changed the way the museum proactively responds to the needs of higher education (HE); reshaped conceptions of the museum as a physical and digital learning space; and reconfigured the museum as a place for active professional, creative and cultural dialogue about the roles of contemporary design, design history and design policy.
Practitioner research into Work Based Learning (WBL)* undertaken at Chester since 1993 has seen the University established as a national leader in this field of study and the impact has affected both the private and public sectors. During 2008-2013 practitioner research at Chester has underpinned consultancy and developmental work. This has resulted in significant impact on workforce development including transforming policy and efficiency within a large Government department, a NHS Hospital Trust and with businesses in the private sector.
*(WBL defined in this context as fully accredited, negotiated, modules or programmes of planned learning through work delivered by HE providers)
The i~design research programme, which has been running in the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering (DoEng) since 2000, sought to understand population diversity in order to better inform design decisions for mainstream everyday products and services. Impact from this programme, since 2008, includes: skills embedded in companies through direct training of over 280 designers and design managers from industry; direct involvement in the improved design of more than 10 new products and services that have gone into production; educational resources for teaching Design and Technology trialled in nine secondary schools; over 800 wearable impairment simulators sold; and extensive web-based guidance, methods and tools for inclusive design accessed in over 170 countries.
Fundamental research undertaken by the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering (DoEng) on the decision-making process in design led to the creation of a software package called DRed. DRed was initially aimed at capturing design rationale, but subsequently broadened in its capability to become a `problem management' tool. DRed has been formally embedded in the Generic System Design Process at Rolls-Royce (R-R), which applies across the whole company such that all R-R engineering staff, including designers and service engineers, have access to DRed. During the period 2008 to 2013, DRed has played a key role in the understanding and resolution of two major aerospace incident investigations, and in the design and development of the Trent XWB engine for the Airbus A350 commercial aircraft.
Research at Kingston University led by Hilary Dalke has established the beneficial effects of colour design for application in long-term health care environments for people with neural disabilities. This work has led to the development of spatial design principles for improving the experience of service users, patients and staff.
Through her consultancy work with architectural firms, individual NHS hospitals, mental health units, independent charities and healthcare furniture and equipment suppliers such as Hill-Rom, Dalke has influenced their understanding of the issues involved, leading to improved design in hospitals, care homes and day centres, with consequent benefits for patients, staff and visitors in four institutions.
A sustained programme of research at the Royal College of Art (RCA) since 1994, led by Coleman, Myerson and Bichard, has played a leading role in the emergence of Inclusive Design within design, industry and education, defining its theoretical principles and developing relevant real-world practice tools and business case studies. This research had made an impact in four key areas: it has influenced the public discourse and the ethics and methods of the design profession; contributed to national policymaking for older and disabled people; enabled economic prosperity through development of new products and services; and supported advances in design education.
CHAPMAN's research into emotionally durable design has radically shifted the values and practices of global businesses, helping them to cut waste and to enhance product, material and brand value. Through publications, exhibitions, master-classes and films, this research has transformed understanding of sustainable design in professional (Puma, Sony), policy (House of Lords, UN) and cultural (Design Museum, New Scientist) settings, propelling the field beyond its focus on energy and materials, towards deeper engagements that link psychosocial phenomena with ideas about consumption and waste. Furthermore, it has contributed to public debate and policy with the effect that the term `emotional durability' has now entered the international design lexicon, providing valuable shorthand for complex phenomena influencing product longevity.
Cruickshank's interdisciplinary research challenges the role of the professional designer and celebrates the potential of the citizen-designer. Insights from the research have developed a series of tools that facilitate design-creativity in the non-specialist. The research demonstrates that technology can be an enabler for the non-professional, impacting on design methods and their implementation. The process of developing the research has had a direct impact through significantly improving the consultation and design activities of the City and County Councils in Lancaster (with potential for scaling this up to other local authorities) and shaped the potential development of a 10-hectare city-centre green space over a 10-year period.