For each project you are required to explore a range of themes and a big part of this is your research. Aiming to evaluate the work of other designers and design principles not only meets the requirements of the assessment criteria but also enables you to expand your horizons in terms of creative influence. Most designers will collect information, photograph things of inspiration but will certainly research ideas and themes for a new project. This could be a specific genre of design or a significant art style to influence their work. The criteria state that you should: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding. What does this look like? For a recent project, I had to use research and theories to present a solution to an identified problem. In the case of some design briefs, the outcome is not set on one fixed design, it could be more abstract than that. Some design briefs c