학부 수업을 위한 프로젝트 기반 디자인 리서치 커리큘럼 및 가이드라인 제안

Background: As user experience design and service design have emerged as an important paradigm, designers' ability to take into account users’ needs and values is considered to be important. In this context, research methods based on the user-centered design perspective have been introduced in the undergraduate design courses. Existing design research curriculum and references, however, tend to focus on professional designers’ retraining or graduate courses in general, or to introduce fragmentary research methods and tools. In order for undergraduate students to develop their research capability, it is needed to develop a design research curriculum that can be highly applicable to undergraduate education.
Methods: Existing design research tools and education were first investigated through literature reviews. Then, this research defines some factors of design projects in the context of undergraduate course, and suggests the knowledge structure needed for projects. Based on that, the design research curriculum was first developed and executed in 2013, and then was revised in 2014 and 2017 reflecting students’ performance and course evaluation.
Result: Three types of curriculum were developed; one in which students develop research skills while conducting one design project, another that involves three short research projects, and the other that involves two projects. Based on the advantages and disadvantages each type showed, the present research proposes a model of design research curriculum.
Conclusion: This research suggests a model of project-based design research curriculum for undergraduate education at a basic level. By providing an applicable tool for planning curriculum, this study is expected to be helpful for design educators who want to cultivate undergraduate students’ basic design research skills through a coursework.