How To Do Fashion Design Research

Master this essential fashion design skill to ensure your designs are fresh, inspired and have your personal signature.

Last updated 2022-01-10 | 4.4

- How to easily carry out research for any project or design brief you are given
- so you never struggle to achieve success.
- How to organise your research material so that you can quickly and easily refer to it in the future.
- How to create research goals so that you are kept focused and productive.

What you'll learn

How to easily carry out research for any project or design brief you are given

so you never struggle to achieve success.

How to organise your research material so that you can quickly and easily refer to it in the future.

How to create research goals so that you are kept focused and productive.

Where to go for the 15 sources of research so that you never run dry of material or ideas.

Understand the 4 fashion design research themes to use.

How to get behind the scenes access to research material in museums and galleries.

How to use a research planner to manage all your research projects.

How to become inspired when you feel stuck and your creative ideas are not flowing.

* Requirements

* No pre-requisites are required.

Description

This course will help anyone that uses research as part of their creative fashion design process. Carrying out effective research is an essential skill for any designer and this course will help you to master this skill.

Make sure your fashion design work is constantly topped up with innovative ideas and inspired work because you have learnt the essential skills for fashion design research.

This course will help:

Fashion students at all levels
People going through the application process for a university or college course in fashion design or a fashion related course
People applying for a job in the field of fashion where an understanding of research in the design process is required.
Mature students, those on a GAP year and people in a job who want to refresh their design research skills.

After completing the course:

By successfully completing this course and applying what you have learnt you will have a confident, well organised, efficient and disciplined approach to your fashion design research.

Duration - the course will take about 1.5 hours to complete.

Structure - you'll be guided by a tutor who has both fashion design and teaching experience and is a gifted designer in her own right, able to pass on her experience to you.

Materials - you will receive complimentary key learning point sheets, a research planner template, sheet as well as personal goal plans and action planner for use during and after you have completed the course.

Tutor Support - your tutor is on hand to call upon for any support you need and to help you to make the most of the course and the time and money you have invested.

Student Discussions - the course includes an opportunity to join in with other students and discussions relating to the creation of your fashion portfolio.

Life Time Access - you have lifetime access to the course so there's no need to feel that you have to complete it within a few days. Start and finish when it suits you knowing that if for any reasons you can't complete it in one go you can always finish it later.

Who this course is for:

This course is designed for anyone that needs to carry out design research work as part of their creative process. This will include fashion designers, fashion design students or creatives working in the fashion sector.

Course content

7 sections • 19 lectures

Meet Your Tutor And Course Overview 4 lectures

Welcome and Course Overview Preview 03:36

In this lecture I will be introducing myself and briefly explaining the content of the course so you know what to expect and how we will be working together.

Tips On Making The Most Of The Course Preview 02:45

From the last lesson you now know what’s covered in the course. In this lecture you’ll learn some tips for making the most of it and how to set your learning goals for the course.

Setting A Personal Learning Goal Preview 02:17

In this lesson I'll explain to you how to set yourself a personal learning goal for the course so that you increase the chance of succeeding and making what you've learnt stick.

Advice About Giving Course Reviews Preview 01:27

Cheryl gives some general advice about giving feedback and course reviews for this course.

Why Design Research Is So Important 2 lectures

Why We Need To Do Research Preview 08:16

In this lesson you’ll learn about why as fashion designers we need to do research in the first place and how it all fits together into the design process. You'll learn about what 'research' is in the context of a fashion designer's role.

How Much Research You Need To Do Preview 02:31

In this lesson you'll learn about how much research is the right amount to do for your projects and brief.

Your 15 Sources Of Research 3 lectures

Sources Of Research 1 - 5 Preview 14:09

In this lesson you’ll learn about the first five of the 15 sources of research. These are:

Museums and Galleries
Architecture and Graphic Design
Fabrics and Trimmings
Shopping
Street Fashion

Sources of Research 6 - 10 Preview 09:34

In this lesson you will learn about the following research sources:

Society, Economics and Politics
Social Media
Performance Art
Industrial Design
Costume Design

Sources Of Research 11 - 15 Preview 09:08

Finally in this lesson you will learn about the last of our 15 sources of research which are:

Music and Fashion
Science, Nature and Technology
Fashion and Sport
photography
Vintage clothing and Secondhand

The Four Research Themes You Need To Work With 1 lectures

Fabric, Creative, Historic And Trend Themes Preview 10:16

In this lesson you’ll learn about the four types of research that you will need to use in your projects as a designer. These are fabric research, creative research, historical research and trend research. These are different to research sources as these are not directly sources but areas of focus, or themes.

My Research Process You Can Follow 2 lectures

The Difference Between Primary And Secondary Research Preview 03:51

Before you begin learning about the research process I want to first explain the difference between primary and secondary research as they both bring different benefits and limitations. You will be faced with using both types in the future so it’s important for you to know the difference. This lesson teaches you the difference between the two and how they apply for you in fashion design.

The Research Process I Use Preview 09:28

In this lesson you’ll learn how to manage and organise your research work to ensure that you work efficiently and remain focused. You will learn about the following elements of the research process:

Planning
Collating and Documenting
Organising and filing
Reviewing and using

Getting Inspired As A Designer 3 lectures

What Being Inspired Means As A Designer Preview 03:08

In this lecture you'll learn about what being inspired as a designer really means and why it's so important a personal characteristic to continually develop.

25 Tips on What To Do When You Feel Uninspired Preview 03:26

In this lecture I share with you my top 25 tips for getting unstuck when inspiration leaves you and you feel uninspired. All of these tips can easily be applied by anyone. Try them and I guarantee you'll feel the difference.

This lecture teaches you how to become inspired when you feel stuck and your creative ideas are not flowing.

How To Get Access To The Hidden Material In Galleries And Museums Preview 02:44

In this lesson I teach you how to get behind the scenes access to research material in museums and galleries.

Course Review and Summary 4 lectures

Learning Review And Summary Preview 01:55

In this lecture I run through the content of the course and remind you of the key learning messages. This will give you an overview of the material you have covered and offer you the chance to ask any final questions before you take the optional quiz.

Optional Assignments Preview 00:12

These assignments are optional but I highly recommend that you carry them out as they will deepen your awareness of what research has to offer a designer and give you first hand experience of how it can bring new ways of seeing what’s around you. You can download the assignment briefing notes from the resources section and follow the instructions to complete your assignment.

If you have any questions about the assignments please ask them once again in the Q&A area. Don’t feel afraid that your question might be silly or irrelevant. It will not be. I believe the only silly questions are ones you should ask but don’t! So please ask if in doubt.

End Of Course Quiz.

This quiz is optional but I'm highly recommending it to you as a way of double checking what you've learnt or not. Have fun and challenge yourself to get 100% right!