FORMATION engages in the reflective practice of design and research.

Each of these modalities—one generative and the other responsive—is not only tempered but strengthened by the other, and the two are in constant dialogue.

We strive to create designs that are students of their contexts, and to communicate the results of our research such that the creative potential of data shines through in its presentation.

Our research practice draws from ethnographic and cultural research techniques, relying heavily on contextual interviews and in-situ observation of users in their experienced realities. fig. a The directness of these methods allows us to flatten institutional hierarchies and rise above established organizational silos in order to uncover unexpected truths.

While we begin each project by developing a set of core questions and activities to guide our research, we expect and anticipate expanding upon or deviating from this foundation once research is under way, as new and interesting avenues inevitably reveal themselves. fig. b

The purpose of our research efforts is to identify opportunities for design interventions, whether they be changes to the built environment or improvements to the 'fourth dimension' of processes, systems, and atmospheres that shape an experience. fig. c Because our approach to design is contextual, the result can be minimally additive or even, in some cases, subtractive.

As designers we take seriously the responsibility of bringing new things into a world that is heavily saturated with ‘stuff’. Our research practice allows us to achieve a greater degree of clarity and utility in the objects, spaces, and systems we create.