This page contains descriptions and documentation of some design research and strategy-oriented projects that I have been involved in. You can also download my resume and a brief portfolio.

increasing product lifetime is almost always environmentally beneficial, but products that fail rarely are (or can be) repaired. My masters thesis serves as a guide to the human experience of product repair and to the opportunities within repair to create positive experiences, reduce our ecological impact, and create business value.

Download the research document — 6MB PDF
or view it online via Issuu (full screen is recommended)

As an intern at M3 Design, I co-led the research for a new oral cancer screening device with the industrial design lead. The research scope and budget were small—and the time line was even smaller—but with our modest methods we gained important insights into the device's interactions with people and the dental office system.

The product is now out for clinical trials, check out M3's case study on it.

For a course in Sustainability and Enterprise, taught by sustainability leader George Basile (formerly of the Natural Step) I focused my work on understanding the interface between the process for strategic sustainability that we were learning and the design strategy process. I did this through a case study of TiVo, Inc.

The strategic sustainability process uses systems level thinking to understand organizations and connect their needs and goals with the sustainability system. I explored adding an additional human-centered focus to this process and, through the TiVo case study, considered how this process overlaps with the design process.

Download the presentation, with notes — 700K PDF
Download the case study document — 300K PDF

Stroke recovery is a physical thing, but it doesn't happen unless the survivor is in the right mental state. For an advanced Human Factors course my partner, Dan Wandrey, and I explored stroke survivors home therapy needs.

We had a lot of interesting findings, but we needed validation from our participants. We found in depth conversations with stroke survivors, who often have aphasia, can be difficult. So we created a card sorting activity that they could engage in and lead us to what they felt was really important.

Download a brief case study of the process — 1mb PDF
Download the research report — 4mb PDF

for two years in a row at asu we have put on Design Research Exchanges. We felt that discourse within the Design Research field was stunted, and wanted to give it a little nudge. In 2008, it was called From Here to There. In 2009, it was called Exposed. We expanded our scope and audience, and looked at the future of design research. We created a conference program that combined lots of hands on workshop hours with thought provoking speakers and interactive events.

I have been heavily involved in both of these events, as a planning team member in '08, and co-chair in '09. These things are lot of work — unpaid work, on top of classes and teaching — but we helped to build a lasting contribution to the profession from ASU.

Check out the Exposed website and photos from the event on Flickr.

for a course in visual ethnography, taught by the International Visual Sociology Association president Eric Margolis, I designed a study that combined participatory photography with storytelling to explore peoples' relationships with objects that they had owned for more than 3 years.

This was, by no means, a robust research endeavor, but I think the findings begin to unveil some of the subtexts of long term product relationships. I took advantage of the small sample and created a research document that entices the reader to form empathy for the participants and analyze the data in their own way. This project was tangential to my thesis research.

Download the research document — 1.5mb PDF
or view it online via Issuu (full screen is recommended)

during my last semester at asu I began work on a research grant sponsored by Motorola to understand police officers' information management needs, identify opportunities, and generate concepts, led by Professors John Takamura and Russ Branaghan.

Thus far, our entire team has done full shift ride-alongs with police officers, and we have created a mockup of the police car cockpit, and mapped how information flows through their primary context. The final stages of research will involve getting officers in the mockup for a participatory exercise. We'll then begin mapping out opportunities and generating ideas.

I'll be updating about this project as it gets closer to wrapping up at the end of June. Stay tuned to the blog.

during my summer internship at M3 Design then Design Research and Strategy Director Laura Richardson and I developed an interest in group creativity, and decided to test our ideas.

We experimented with a method of employing participatory design in group settings in relation to a social product: games. The results of this experiment were exciting, and were discussed during her talk at the IIT Design Research Conference.

A case study of this is in the works, check back soon or sign up for my blog's RSS feed to find out when I add new things.



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Email: gregsburkett@gmail.com    download: resumé, brief portfolio