Designing: A new era for design research
Philip J. Cash, Jaap Daalhuizen, Nigel Cross · Designing · 2025
Design research is the outcome of more than 60 years of growth, yet many still seem to regard and approach it as an emerging discipline. We set out to answer whether we are still an ‘emerging’ discipline, and if an emerging mindset is still productive. We take stock of the discipline, explore some of its most salient challenges, and examine what they could mean for our future. We come to two conclusions. First, we contend that we have emerged, and it is time to adopt a maturing mindset . Second, our historically emerging mindset , while valuable in the past, now challenges maturation by fostering (i) conceptual ambiguity and empirical ambiguity , (ii) satisficing insights , (iii) methodological imbalance , and (iv) prescriptive leaps . We propose a call to action, encouraging a doubling down on designing ; taking responsibility for our impact and treating ourselves and our research with the respect that this deserves and demands.