A three-layer methodological framework for analysing reflective design practice: Integrating research through design and action design research

Design studios are dynamic environments needing analytical frameworks to capture designers’ complex experiences in ideation, intervention, and reflection. This study introduces a three-layer methodological framework that integrates Donald Schön’s account of reflective practice with principles from Research through Design and Action Design Research. The framework conceptualises reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action as temporally sequenced processes and organises qualitative material into reflective, interventive, and articulative layers. Through an illustrative application, the article demonstrated how the model structures diverse design materials and reveals the micro-temporal shifts through which designers navigate uncertainty, respond to prompts, and reconstruct meaning across iterative cycles of design iteration and critique. The framework provides a coherent and adaptable analytical lens for examining studio-based design work. It also advances methodological discussions on how reflective practice can be understood within real-world, intervention-rich learning environments. Its conceptual clarity and pedagogical relevance suggest strong potential for adoption across diverse design education settings.