STUDY SKILLS - WHAT IS RESEARCH?

This information is taken from: Seivewright, S. (2012) Research and design. 2nd end. Lausanne: AVA.


The term primary sources is here used to refer to your own sketches (it can also mean primary research papers, original manuscripts and documents, original objects, interviews and questionnaires).

1. PRIMARY SOURCES (DRAWINGS)


Primary sources are the findings that you have collected or recorded first hand. In other words, they are the objects that you have drawn directly from, for example, anatomical references from a museum on natural history.

Primary sources are generally recorded through drawings or photographs, and often provide greater sensory associations than just the object itself. (Seivewright, 2012, p.48).


2. SECONDARY SOURCES


Secondary sources are the findings of other people. These may be found in books, on the Internet, or in journals and magazines, for example. They are just as important as primary sources of research and often allow you to see and read about things that are no longer around or that are not easily accessible. (Seivewright, 2012, p.49).


The value of both

It is vital that you understand both types of sources and that in any good research there is a balance of both. Primary sources will call upon your drawing talents and secondary sources will utilise your investigative skills’ (Seivewright, 2012, p.49).


3. SOURCES OF INFORMATION

  • Internet for dedicated websites 
  • fashion blogs 
  • magazines
  • online magazines
  • libraries, books and journals
  • museums and art galleries
  • travel
  • second-hand shops 
  • architecture
  • the natural world
  • film, theatre and music
  • street and youth culture
  • new technologies (Seivewright, 2012, p.52-71).

The Internet


The Internet is probably the easiest place to start, as it is the most accessible way of gathering information, images and text from all over the world. …

Take a look at specialist online fashion-related resources, such as costume archives, manufacturing and fabric wholesalers, specific trend and forecasting companies, and industry events such as Premier Vision, which showcases the latest fabrics from around the world. (Seivewright, 2012, p.52).


Fashion blogs


Fashion blogs are increasingly becoming a vital part of the mainstream fashion media and are easily accessible by a huge and diverse market …

Blogs can be written by anyone, but in general they fall into three distinct categories, in terms of whether they are written by insiders, outsiders or aspiring insiders …

Insiders are those who work in the fashion industry and are able to offer professional opinions and points of view on current trends or products.

Outsiders are those people who don’t work within the fashion industry but have a strong opinion on fashion due to their personal interest in it as a consumer.

… aspiring insiders are those people who wish to work in the industry and see blogging as a new media and a means of gaining attention and possible employment. (Seivewright, 2012, p.52-53).
www.coolhunting.com

www.thecoolhunter.co.uk

www.fashion.net

www.papermode.trendland.net

www.showstudio.com

www.stylebubble.co.uk

www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com


Libraries, books and journals


A library is a wonderful place to begin your research as it can offer immediate references for images and text in the form of books and journals. a library allows you to explore aisles of books on subjects that you may not have initially considered during your brainstorming sessions. There is something special about leafing through a book; the smell, touch and visual stimulus they can provide are often forgotten when simply looking on the Internet. (Seivewright, 2012, p.55).

Museums and art galleries


Museums are a wonderful source of primary research as they contain a huge and diverse array of objects, artefacts and historical treasures …

Art galleries are also an essential part of the research process as they offer inspiration for subject matter, colour, texture, print and surface embellishment. (Seivewright, 2012, p.56).


Travel

As a designer, it is important to explore and discover your environment and realise that everything around you has the potential to be research. Therefore, the ability to travel must also be an important part of the research process. Looking at and learning from other cultures and countries can provide you with a wealth of information that can be translated into contemporary fashion design.

Large design companies will often send their design team abroad to research for their collections, with a view to them gathering old treasures, pieces of fabric, artefacts, garments, jewellery and accessories - anything they think could be used as inspiration. (Seivewright, 2012, p.58).


Architecture

Fashion and architecture have a great deal in common … They actually start from the same point - the human body. They both protect and shelter, while also providing a means to express identity, whether it is personal, political, religious or cultural.

Fashion and architecture also express ideas of space, volume and movement and have parallel practices in the way that they exploit materials from flat two-dimensional surfaces to complex three-dimensional forms. (Seivewright, 2012, p.62).


REFERENCE

Seivewright, S. (2012) Research and design. 2nd end. Lausanne: AVA.