Analyze your past research practices within fashion design in relation to the reading, and identify research methods that you’re already familiar with. Then identify those research methods discussed in the text that you’re not familiar with and with each one, discuss how you would employ each method in the context of user research. What else do you need to do in order to gain a complete sense of your user?

 

While I was doing research on textile in healing, I found there was no direct content pointing on whether textile can actually heal illness. Therefore, I spread my topic out into spiritual healing and textile quality. From my own experience, the texture and quality of a textile make me feel different in wearing them. I remembered once I wore a 100 percent synthetic sweater, I felt so itchy and I couldn’t wear it for long otherwise I would get allergy. Besides, very tight silhouette feel hard to breath and bring insecurity to me. As I had taken color theory course, I know that color bring various sense and emotions to people, some philologists even use color therapy method to cure patient. Based on above, I searched articles about color therapy and spiritual healing, noticed there are different usage for each color and how people interact with each color differently. Natural fiber also gives more safety to skin, and mothers are encouraged to buy baby clothes that are made by “green” fibers like organic cotton, linen and cashmere without chemical treated.

In the text, the author discussed about organizing information from amasses, selecting useful idea and don’t let the topic too broad. It is kind of hard to choose a direction during researching, there are so many interesting perspectives that I can go and I have to choose one of them to make further researching. At the point, I have to be sure about what information I would like to contain in my project, and different directions can actually influence my final project completely.

It is very useful by following the method of What? Why? How? And So what? Especially to think of ‘So What’ question, to revisit the same question and make it a little bit wider to involve more people into the realm and be more significant. For my user, I think I need to tell her my conclusion from my research and discuss about how knitwear changed her sense of wearing it and how to develop knitwear design from technical view.

 

Reference:

Gray, C. and Malins, J, Visualizing Research, A Guide to the Research Process in Art and Design. Ashgate Publishing LTS., Aldershot,2004, p9-24.