Mapping Research Through Design

Hildesheim, 20.01.2025

„Make a map, not a tracing.“
(Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari)

This exhibition presents the outcomes of diverse research projects conducted by students in the M.A. Design program at HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Hildesheim. The works are staged as visual narratives that foreground design-specific modes of knowledge production—diagrams, maps, and visualizations—not merely as representational devices but as epistemic instruments. In many cases, these visual forms do not simply communicate findings; they actively generate them. The exhibition therefore situates itself within the expanding field of design research, exploring the productive interstice between design and scholarly inquiry. It presents experimental forms of articulation that operate in this “in-between” space, where analytical rigor and creative practice converge. Through this methodological orientation, design research emerges as a dynamic and evolving field—one that continuously develops new modes of investigation and new formats of knowledge.

The accompanying seminar challenged students to investigate complex phenomena situated across disciplines, including design practice, design studies, design management, marketing, and media and communication studies. The research process involved formulating precise research questions, critically engaging existing scholarship, developing appropriate research designs, and selecting and applying suitable methodological frameworks. Working individually or collaboratively, students conducted theoretically grounded, methodologically structured, and experimentally oriented research projects. The exhibition and seminar are grounded in the framework of Research through Design (RtD)—an approach that positions the design process itself as a primary mode of inquiry. Within RtD, design is understood not solely as a problem-solving activity, but as a medium for formulating questions, producing insights, and generating situated knowledge that may exceed the capacities of conventional research methodologies. Designers assume the role of researchers whose creative processes are directed not only toward the production of artifacts, but toward critical exploration, reflection, and contribution to academic discourse as well as societal transformation.

Photos by Kathy Kakiga

Mapping Research Through Design invites visitors to engage with contemporary design research as a cartographic practice: an exploratory activity that traces relations, constructs conceptual terrains, and opens new epistemic pathways. The exhibition demonstrates how the integration of design and research can yield innovative perspectives and knowledge formations. The works on display highlight both the diversity and methodological depth of current design research, while underscoring the transformative capacity of design as an instrument of inquiry and innovation.

Text: Konstantin Haensch