Research
The Media Design Program at Art Center College of Design integrates research into the curriculum in a variety of ways. During the first term of Super Studio, a one-year, team-oriented group project that is part of the core curriculum, students are introduced to the power of human-centered research conducted by designers (as opposed to market researchers or social scientists).

Media Designers bring a unique approach not only to the design of the research tools-or "probes"-but also to the interpretation of the qualitative and quantitative information that they gather. On the lookout for particular curiosities and surprising patterns, the Media Design students translate their findings into visual, material, narrative, and experiential communication "tools." These tools, which include new takes on traditional research outcomes (such as personae) along with experimental devices (such as "vibration rooms"), are designed to be open-ended and provide multiple entry points, qualities that make them useful for innovation in the next phase.

This unique approach led Hewlett Packard's Consumer Applications and Systems Laboratory to sponsor the Media Design students in Fall 2004 to research tweens (ages 11-14) in relation to Technology, Personal Agency and Engagement.

To begin, we interviewed eleven pairs of tweens (22 total) from Southern California. Six pairs were interviewed at a research facility in Santa Monica and five pairs were interviewed at their homes in the San Gabriel Valley. We asked them questions about who they are, their habits, their everyday experiences and values. During the interviews we photographed and videotaped all of the tweens and at the in-home interviews this included their rooms. We also gave each tween their own camera with a notebook attached and asked them to take photographs of their lives which included their rooms, backpacks, friends, family, and daily activities.