Exploring the mutual relationship between research and consultancy for a commercial design product in the area of communication design

Abstract

Due to challenges brought by the advancements in information technologies, transferring the knowledge and obtaining effective solutions in the early design process has gained importance, as it has become very difficult to obtain the desired efficiency and user satisfaction of any service of a product, if it has been developed in the methodological perspective of one discipline. This paper tries to explore the potential of the discipline of Communication Design (CoD) to provide consultation to engineers, with regard to its expertise on developing interactions and methodologies for the design of tools and products using advanced technology. For this purpose, a research was conducted with the aim of giving consultancy for the analysis of the efficiency of four kiosks located in Ozyegin University and four alternative user scenarios, which were developed in collaboration with CoD students in Interaction Design Ergonomics course of the 2015 Fall semester, were shared with the provider group. The outcomes brought by the relationship between research and consulting are discussed in terms of obtained achievements and benefits for researchers, design students as well as engineers.