A practical introduction to user or customer research. Learn the theory and practise the methods of modern design research as you design a research project from scratch, implement it, analyse the findings, and communicate the insights you discover.

How does it work?

This is an experiential course. You learn by doing. Our teaching methodology is built on giving you three building blocks for everything we cover:

1. Principles

You get the foundational theory behind the methods you learn – why we work the way we do. This is to give you a basis for further study or self-development and helps you judge how appropriate any method is for a given challenge, enabling you to alter a method as required or to develop your own methods as needed.

2. Methods

You get common design methods that make up a typical human-centred design process. These are practical ways of working that you can take away and start applying immediately.

3. Practice

You apply the principles and methods you learn on a project. This practical component is essential in making sure you can apply what you learn in the course to real life human behaviour and design problems.

Course outcomes

On completing the course you will:

Have a good grasp of basic design research principles
Be able to identify research needs and design a programme of work to meet those needs
Be able to conduct observational and semi-structured interview-based field work
Be able to analyse the data collected from your field work
Be able to present those findings in the manner most appropriate for their intended use and audience

In addition you receive:

A certificate of completion if you attend the whole course and complete all the practical and theory portions of the course.
Access to full online notes for the course and access to our community Slack channel to tap into the expertise and experience of our course alumni and facilitators.

What do you need?

All materials are provided. This course is process focused, not tool focused, so you don’t need to bring a laptop or other device, although you are welcome to do so if you wish. All you need to bring is your attention and enthusiasm!

On the day

We start at 9:30am and wrap up at 4:30pm with an hour for lunch at 12:30pm. Lunch is not provided, but we do provide coffee and healthy snacks.

Who is it for?

All are welcome and no prior knowledge is required to do this course. However, the course is primarily aimed at:

Decision makers

Anyone involved in making decisions for product, UX, or service design who wants to learn how to generate reliable evidence-based insights to inform those decisions.

Designers and design graduates

Product, service, and UX designers who want to add research to their skill set.

Strategists and analysts

Senior practitioners who want to gain an understanding of generating user or customer insights.

Product owners and project managers

Product owners and project managers who want a better understanding of how research decisions are made.

People exploring career transition

People from other professional backgrounds who want to explore transitioning into user or c

Contact the host of Design Research | Wellington