DDM140: Research Methods
[design research process]
February 2024 - April 2024
Participants using AI in tinkering activities
Along with three teammates, I designed a research study to investigate the interplay between material-driven design and AI assistance in creative processes. With advancements in generative language models, designers are increasingly exploring how AI can support human creativity. Our study examines how Google’s AI assistant, Gemini, can contribute to tinkering activities within a material-driven design process, fostering spontaneous discoveries. Through a workshop and in-depth interviews, we explored practices and challenges in human-AI collaboration during tinkering. A thematic analysis of participant narratives uncovered patterns of interaction, revealing emergent roles, negotiations, and conflicts between human and AI agencies in the evolving design process.
This course was an opportunity for me to learn and apply qualitative research methods such as interviews, focus groups, workshops and thematic analysis.
My contribution lay in identifying the appropriate research/ data collection methodology, designing and conducting the workshop, analysis of data, and writing the paper.
Competency development
