InformeDesign, a clearinghouse for design and human behavior research, is a close working collaboration between the American Society of Interior Designers and the University of Minnesota. The exploratory phase of this collaboration was initiated in the fall of 2000 with the discussion of a proposal for such a clearinghouse authored by Denise Guerin, Ph.D. and Caren Martin, Ph.D. of the Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel in the College of Human Ecology, University of Minnesota. The ideation and commitment to this project is the belief that the designers of the built environment must continue to enhance their knowledge and skills to continue to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public to ever-increasing degrees of excellence. Continuing to build the body of knowledge and disseminating that knowledge is the key.

This project has principal, continuous involvement from individuals from both ASID and the University of Minnesota. Principally, ASID acts to secure contributions and undertake the role of communication leader. The University of Minnesota functions as creator, knowledge developer and manager, and houses InformeDesign and its database. Development, operation, and maintenance of InformeDesign have also required specialized services from other individuals, organizations, businesses, or institutions. They are involved with InformeDesign on an as needed, consultant. This collaboration between ASID and the University has created an independent, unique and valuable resource to the design community: InformeDesign, where research informs design.

InformeDesign's Creator: University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota is a land grant university. Teaching, research, and outreach represent the three-pronged focus. For the second

photo by: UMN Agricultural Experiment Station

consecutive year, the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, ranks among the top three public research universities in the nation, according to a new study by "The Center" at the University of Florida. The University of Minnesota is one of only three public research universities to rank within the top 10 public and private research universities. The top six positions are held by private institutions. The University of Minnesota enrollment totals 55,000 students on six campuses throughout the state.

InformeDesign is housed on the St. Paul campus in the Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel (DHA) in the College of Design. The goal of the faculty and students in the department is to positively affect the well-being of each individual's daily life. This is accomplished by enhancing communication, designing the objects and places that make life meaningful, working with special populations and related human policy, exploring health concerns in the designed environment, and developing the economic potential of households and organizations. The research done in DHA identifies, analyzes, and designs solutions for problems involving apparel, housing, interiors, and visual communication to contribute to the improvement of the human condition. The department serves over 600 undergraduate students and 40 graduate students who are seeking masters or Ph.D. degrees.

The College of Design unites programs in architecture, clothing design, graphic design, interior design, housing studies, landscape architecture, and retail merchandising creating a nationally distinctive, multidisciplinary college engaged in research, teaching, creative production, and public engagement.