Translational Designers

Reference: Page, R., & John, K. (2019). Commercializing Academic Medical Research: The Role of the Translational Designer. The Design Journal, 22(5), 687-705. https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2019.1629776

Abstract: Increasingly universities are seeking to play a more active role in translating their fundamental scientific discoveries into large-scale, practical impact in the world. In the field of medical research, translating discoveries from the bench to the bedside. These processes of research translation are complex and interdisciplinary, involving a combination of research as well as non-research activities that take place both within and outside the traditional boundaries of the university. This complexity leads to many discoveries being ‘lost in translation’. This paper unpacks some of the challenges faced by designers with research translation through a series of case studies from a health care design research lab – Monash University Health Collab. Through these case studies, we highlight the necessary role of the translational designer, a hybrid design practitioner-researcher who brings the strengths of both industrial design practice and design research as a way to help bridge the chasms between research and commercial development.

My notes: I have become quite interested in developing design research methodologies beyond just merely adopting ways of doing things from either science, social studies, humanities, or artistic research. Rowan and Kieran reflect on their extensive experiences working in x-disciplinary projects and offer here valuable ideas that will be of interest to designers who work in similar translation projects from science to product design. But their work is also relevant in the broader context of 'identity formation' for the growing field of 'designerly researchers' and 'researcherly designers' to quote Joyce Yee. I left professional practice in 2000 to pursue philosophical, ethical, and intellectual ideas that advance the field of design, and I am glad that although it has taken 2 decades, there is a clear 'critical mass' today of clever people making these connections.