Research & Debate
Design Research is critical to how we relate to and understand the world around us as designers. The skills developed through its practice serve our alumni in various ways, whether they pursue careers in design or a different field. Research is woven into the BA and MA programmes at DAE, but Design Research is a relatively young field, and its development and practice are still being shaped. Our Research Department plays a significant role in this evolution, exploring new approaches and connections and expanding the types of knowledge that enter and leave the Academy.
Our Lectures and Debates programme also helps connect us to the wider world, bringing in new voices and opening up the Academy’s programme to the public through live and digital events.
We also engage with design discourse and research through international exhibitions and presentations. These often take place at key moments for the design industry, such as Milan design week. They offer our alumni and students a chance to show their work to the world and for the world to respond to and learn about the ideas and concerns of our students and graduates.
How can design contribute to today's societies and to our collective and individual futures? Research plays a large role in understanding where we might begin to approach the complexities within this seemingly simple question. We also need research to help us determine and communicate the value of design and the role of education.
At DAE, design is about more than creating objects and systems – it is about engaging with the societies and realities around us, exchanging knowledge and encountering, considering and embracing different ways of thinking, seeing and making.
Design Academy Eindhoven is an international design school based in the Netherlands. The DAE community encompasses a global network of designers, teachers, curators and makers, many of whom are engaged with live design research projects and the exchange and creation of knowledge within connected fields.