Good information gives designers a competitive advantage. Understanding the wishes of a client and the needs and preferences of their audience drives innovation. The ability to gather research, analyze findings, and apply them to project goals is as important to successful design teams as their conceptual and aesthetic skills. This essential handbook will help readers understand what design research is and why it is necessary, outline proven techniques and methods, and explain how to incorporate them into any creative process.
 
A Designer’s Research Manual was one of the first books to apply research practices to the benefit of visual communication designers. This long awaited second edition follows more than a decade of active use by practitioners, design educators, and students around the world. Comprehensively updated, A Designer's Research Manual second edition includes:

• Over 25 proven research strategies and tactics
• Added content about planning research, analyzing results, and integrating research into the design process
• Suggestions for scaling research for any project, timeline, or budget
• All new in-depth case studies from industry leaders, outlining strategy and impact
• Updated images, illustrations, and visualizations
• Quick Tips for rapid integration of research concepts into your practice

Jenn and Ken Visocky O'Grady are authors, designers, and educators whose work has been featured in numerous books and creative industry publications.
Jenn is a professor at Cleveland State University, a public research university where for nearly two decades she has dedicated herself to providing access and opportunity to a diverse group of aspiring creatives. She has also served on the board of directors for AIGA, the professional association for design.
Ken is a professor and coordinator of the graduate program at the School of Visual Communication Design at Kent State University. His coursework focuses on design thinking and research-driven design practices. He has served on the AIGA Design Educators Community  (DEC) steering committee.
The couple have co-authored three internationally distributed books, Design Currency, The Information Design Handbook, and A Designers Research Manual, that strive to make academic concepts approachable while celebrating the power, impact, and potential of good design. They also present workshops and lectures at creative industry events, and are committed to promoting the value of design to external audiences.
You can learn more at visockyogrady.com