Exploring the Future of Transdisciplinary Research

Design Research Graphic Design & Branding

Cover page of the documentation of the future of transdisciplinary research at The Ohio State University with interconnected circles graphics in red and white.

Year: 2024

Tools: Adobe InDesign

Team: Served as design researcher and graphic designer for booklet, in collaboration with design researchers

Transdisciplinary Research at Ohio State University

This project examines how The Ohio State University can strengthen its culture of transdisciplinary research, bringing together diversedisciplines, perspectives, and communities to tackle complex, wicked problems. Utilizing design research and co-design to understand OSU’s current state, we imagine a future pathway towards a more connected, collaborative research ecosystem.

Two group scenes: top image shows five adults standing around a table reviewing documents and a colorful poster; bottom image shows five people seated around a table with laptops, smiling and engaged in discussion in a modern office with exposed brick walls.

Goals

Understood the current state of transdisciplinary research at OSU through interviews and conversations with faculty, students and staff
Identify barriers such as bureaucracy, siloed communication, and misaligned reward systems
Planned and executed a co-design workshop with OSU faculty, administrators, students and staff, inviting the participants to explore ideas for elevating transdisciplinary at OSU in the future.
Translate complex research findings into a clear, engaging, and visually structured booklet

Research Process

The research unfolded in two major phases:

Preliminary Research: Literature reviews, interviews with faculty, staff, adminstrators, PhD students, and observations of research spaces
Co-design Workshop: 24 participants envisioned the future of transdisciplinary research at OSU

Four vision boards creating during co-design sessions with paper cutouts and drawings illustrating concepts like vision, challenge, innovation, rethinking, disruption, and imagining future possibilities.

Booklet

The booklet serves as both a research archive and a forward‑looking vision document.

Summarizes interviews, literature reviews, and workshop findings
Presents insights and vision boards from co-design workshop
Visualizes current, near‑future, and long‑term scenarios for OSU
Highlights opportunities for leadership, community support, and structural changes

View the documentation

A three-page spread from a report titled 'Exploring the Future of Transdisciplinary Research at The Ohio State University' featuring networked circle graphics, workshop descriptions, photos of people in a meeting, and summary vision boards with keywords including connectedness and trust.

Layout and Visualization

The layout supports clarity and narrative flow, and visualization synthesizes complex research insights into easily digestible graphics

Pages balance text with large visual moments to maintain engagement
System diagrams mapped OSU’s current and future cultural structures
Designed with print practicality in mind: margins, fold lines, and image placement

Three diagrams illustrating the transdisciplinary research culture: current situation with top-down arrows from Leadership to Grassroots, near-term future with interconnected Leadership and Grassroots nodes within a shared culture, and long-term future adding Community nodes connected around Grassroots and Leadership.