“Design Driven Deliverables”

The standout presentation Tuesday at The Market Research Event (TMRE) was from W5, a market research company based in Durham, NC. The session was on “Design Driven Deliverables,” defined as “any method of communicating research findings that goes beyond the standard research report.”

This topic has been of great interest to me; it’s unfortunately often met with blank stares. As Steve Kulp and Lisa Broome from W5 discussed expanding the range of media used to communicate research results, my thought was, “Maybe I’m not as crazy as I thought, or at least they’re crazy in the same way I am!”

W5 considers four types of design driven deliverables:

• Graphic – Results depicted visually in posters, booklets, stickers, note cards, etc.
• Sensory – Stimuli that engage the senses in various ways, including textures, audio, video, and smells.
• Experiential – An interactive presentation of results in ideation sessions, dramatization, experiential tours, immersion rooms.
• Installation – Physical environments that convey understanding, including displays, large scale murals, shadow boxes, and artifact installations.

They showed examples that demonstrated meaningful, story-based depictions of research data going beyond simply reporting statistical differences. Check out more information through W5 white papers on this and other topics at company’s website.

Follow-up note - here’s a recap video shot right after Monday’s strategic thinking session. It’s posted on YouTube!