This paper discusses the integration of evidence-based design (EBD) into the design process as an innovation, illuminates the significance and progress of the diffusion of this innovation, and identifies EBD advocates and the consequences of meeting the EBD challenge. A free tool for engaging in EBD is explored. Healthcare designers are leading the EBD charge, because their clients depend on it. But not all designers engage in EBD, because it may be beyond the resources of a firm or outside its culture. However, as with other meaningful design innovations, designers who do not practice EBD could fall by the wayside. EBD is a product of the diffusion of the innovation of evidence-based medicine. The academy (i.e., the collective of institutions of higher education), design organizations, design communities, and the media all contribute to the diffusion of EBD. However, the quantity, quality, and understandability of evidence continue to challenge its broad adoption. InformeDesign®, a free, Internet-based tool, presents information to designers in a concise, understandable way. Firms must invest in EBD incrementally as a value-added component of design to meet current and future challenges. It is important for designers to realize that engaging in EBD is not a rejection of creativity, but a means by which to elevate their design solutions.
DavidsonK., & SpringB. (2006). Developing an evidence base in clinical psychology. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 249–271.
17.
DickinsonJ.MarsdenJ., & ReadM. (2007). Empirical design research: Student definitions, perceptions, and values. Journal of Interior Design, 32(2), 1–12.
18.
DicksonA., & WhiteA. (1993). Are we speaking the same language? Practitioners' perceptions of research and the state of the profession. Journal of Interior Design, 19(1), 3–10.
19.
DohertyS. (2005). History of evidence-based medicine. Oranges, chloride of lime and leeches: Barriers to teaching old dogs new tricks. Emergency Medicine Australasia, 17, 314–321.
20.
EdelsteinE. (2008). Searching for evidence. Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 1(4), 95–110.
GibsonK. (1994). Cultivating the next generation of interior designers: The undergraduate as design researcher. Journal of Interior Design, 20(1), 42–45.
23.
GoetzL. (2003, September). Natural leaders: Examining the firm's role in the advancement of the profession. Interiors & Sources, 67.
24.
GuerinD., & MartinC. (2001). The interior design profession's body of knowledge: Its definition and documentation. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: The Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO).
25.
GuerinD., & ThompsonJ. (2004). Interior design education in the 21st century: An educational transformation. Journal of Interior Design, 30(1), 1–12.
International Interior Design Association. (2000). Program highlights: International Interior Design Association interior design research summit. Chicago: IIDA.
33.
International Interior Design Association. (2007). Knowledge center. Retrieved September 21, 2008, from http://knowledgecenter.iida.org/
34.
KopecD. (2006). Environmental psychology for design. New York: Fairchild.
MalkinJ. (2005, September). Using evidence-based design to create optimal patient experiences. Seminar presented at the Healing by Design Lecture Series, University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality and Healing and the Landscape Arboretum, Chanhassen, MN.
37.
MartinC., & GuerinD. (2005, September 26). Using research to inform healthcare design. Full-day workshop presented at The Symposium on Healthcare Design, Atlanta, Georgia.
38.
MartinC., & GuerinD. (2006). The interior design profession's body of knowledge, 2005 edition. Grand Rapids: Council for Interior Design Accreditation, American Society of Interior Designers, Interior Designers of Canada, International Interior Design Association, and the National Council for Interior Design Qualification.
39.
MaxwellR., & Van Den Broek. (2008). Strategic, evidence-informed design: The world's first elder-friendly acute care hospital. Healthcare Design, 8(10), 18–22.
National Council for Interior Design Qualification. (2004). Who we are: NCIDQ definition of interior design. Retrieved November 20, 2006, from http://www.ncidq.org/who/definition.htm
PowellB. (2008, March 10). Most excellent. Officeinsight, 2–5.
44.
RhoadsE. (2008). Prescribed design: Employing evidence-based design ensures public welfare while building on the body of knowledge. Interiors & Sources, 15(1), 57–58.
45.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2006, March 7). Craig Zimring, Ph.D., environmental psychologist and professor of architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved November 21, 2008, from http://www.rwjf.org/humancapital/product.jsp?id=20973
WeigandJ., & HarwoodB. (2007). Defining graduate education in interior design. Journal of Interior Design, 33(2), 3–10.
56.
WeigandJ., & Harmon-VaughanB. (2003). Defining a “body of knowledge”: How can the interior design profession best define its knowledge base?Interiors & Sources, 10(7), 64–65.
