Abstract:

Except conventional engineering research studies, there is not a long history for research studies in industrial and product design (IPD) in China. As one of the leading design schools in Asia, the School of Design of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Special Administration Region, has offered one of the earliest design research programmes (i.e. MPhil, PhD) in China (including Hong Kong) since the mid 1990s. Since the early 2000s, some universities in mainland China have started to offer similar research programmes. This paper briefly reviews the current research studies in IPD in China. It identifies the limitations of these research studies which are too technical or too fine-art oriented. Focusing on the Hong Kong design research programmes similar to the conventional British research curricula and practices, the paper criticizes the thesis-oriented research studies in IPD. It then attempts to identify the needs for changes in research studies in IPD in a city (similar to many contemporary cities) which faces continuous social, cultural, economical and industrial changes. By using a critical reform in research studies in IPD striking a balance in research and practice since 2002 as case study, the paper discusses the advantages, limitations, difficulties and possibilities of such reform in design research studies to face the changes. By presenting the case study, the paper expects to stimulate further investigations and discussions on the topic not only in IPD but also in a wider perspective in different design disciplines.

Keywords:

Reform, research education, design research, practice.