Doing Design 'Structuring Design Research Projects for Success'

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In this episode of Doing Design, you will hear from myself, Gerry Scullion and Geke Van Dijk, one of the finest design researchers that I know of and work with. We chat about structuring design research projects for success and go through the granular details of things that successful research projects do.

It's a good one!

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Creators and Guests

Host

Gerry Scullion

Gerry Scullion is an Irish-born, globally recognised service designer, educator, podcaster, coach, and founder based in Dublin. With 22+ years in design, his career spans roles in interaction design, UX, and leadership positions—most notably as Head of Design at Myspace Australia/NZ and later serving clients like Cochlear, Microsoft, Aer Lingus, and government bodies  . He’s the Founder & CEO of The Human‑Centered Design Network and the voice behind This is HCD, a popular podcast and design community with over one million downloads . A committed educator, he has developed several online courses—spanning UX fundamentals, journey mapping, stakeholder mapping, prototyping, and service blueprints—as well as authoring “Service Design for Executives” on Pluralsight . A passionate keynote speaker at events like UX Scotland and Service Design Days, he shares his insights on resilience in design, ethical frameworks (“do no harm”), and embedding design within tech-led environments . Gerry is also Co‑founder and Director at Humana Design, a Dublin-based agency focusing on design research, consultancy, and enabling design transformation . Beyond design, he’s a coach and mentor to designers worldwide, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a former Councillor for Ireland . In his personal time, Gerry is a musician, barista-in-training, gardener, and family man living by the sea in Clontarf, Dublin

SM

Producer

Stef Murphy

Stef Murphy, is a Dublin based podcast producer.

What is This is HCD: Human-Centred Design, UX & Service Design?

Practical conversations about human-centred design, service design, and UX for designers who want to do meaningful work inside real organisations.

Gerry Scullion talks with leading practitioners, design leaders, and strategists about what actually works: building design maturity, getting buy-in from leadership, running better research, improving customer experience, and growing design teams that deliver lasting impact.

With over 1 million downloads worldwide, This is HCD is the go-to podcast for UX designers, service designers, UX researchers, product managers, and anyone working to embed design thinking into how their organisation operates.

Every episode gives you methods, mindsets, and real stories you can put to work straight away. Subscribe to the Design Compass newsletter at thisishcd.com for weekly insights that go deeper.