Design Research Hub

Description

The Design Research Hub is focused on the production and dissemination of high quality research in design at Manchester School of Art. The Design Research Hub encourages and supports both leading and new researchers who are exploring the theories and practices of a diverse range of design and craft based activities. It consists of, and encourages collaboration between academics, researchers and practitioners drawn from a breadth of disciplinary specialisms including ceramics, glass, textiles, graphic design, illustration, interior and product design.

Key themes and interests are:

• Community, Culture and Heritage, including social and cultural engagement with diverse cultures and their heritage, in particular with marginalised and displaced groups.
• Design for Mental Health and Wellbeing, including the application of design to support people living with mental health, dementia and disability as well as addressing stigma, to improve social engagement, agency and quality of life.
• Design driven innovation and speculative design, including working with businesses to facilitate design-led innovation leading to improved social and economic benefit.
• Making and Materiality, including technical, material or process innovation to enable the creative and practical development of novel solutions in both analogue and digital areas.

Underpinning these four themes, there are two further trans-disciplinary areas:

• Sustainable Design, in acknowledgement of all design interventions having an effect on the natural environment, resource limitations and climate change, which therefore need to be considered in all undertakings
• Design Education and the development of its teaching practices are essential to grow tomorrows cohort of ethical and responsible designers able to follow a publicly engaged, collaborative, interdisciplinary and challenge-led approach.

Researchers in this group are engaged in exploring all of the diverse range of the practices, theories, histories, and languages of design. The aims of the centre are to examine the role of design, in its diversity of forms, and to recognize, evaluate and profile its significance. The objectives of the centre are to disseminate designs past, present and future, through the production of a range of works and through many mediums.

Researchers are engaged in the production of objects, books, exhibitions, papers, and many other research initiatives and projects. The centre encourages interaction between subject areas, academic and practice-led projects, and institutional collaboration. It is an intersection between researchers and practitioners, academics and teachers, and a hub for positive exchange and creative production.

Offers funding

No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

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University affiliation(s)

Manchester Metropolitan University
All Saints
All Saints Building
Manchester
M15 6BH