What is artistic research? What is a research document? How do these relate to the making process, invention, and creativity? What exactly is expected of me? If you have ever asked yourself any of these questions, then this book is for you. Research For People Who (Think They) Would Rather Create addresses all relevant aspects that need to be considered during a research and documentation process, such as: finding the right topic and approach; formulating your research question; working out your methods; choosing one or more suitable writing styles; and considering the possible roles of visual, virtual, auditory, embodied, and spatial materials.

Research For People Who (Think They) Would Rather Create shows a multitude of examples from the field of art and design – each of which illustrates one specific aspect of developing a thesis, essay, paper, research document, or however else it may be referred to in your own setting. You can read this book from cover to cover, or you can immediately flip to those subjects which you find most relevant at any given moment. Ultimately, Research For People Who (Think They) Would Rather Create is an invitation to contribute – quite literally, with your own projects, examples, and questions – since the ultimate goal is to help you develop your own research.


Dirk Vis (1981) writes fiction, columns, scripts and essays on art and technology, mostly in Dutch. Vis lives and works in Amsterdam. He studied Image & Language at the Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam and Graphic Design at the Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam. His works of non-fiction and fiction have been published in Dutch: a limited edition of Bestseller (2009), the ebook The reality-essay (2017) and a series of texts in different forms and media e.g. chapbooks, performances, websites, etcetera. He's directed several video works based on his texts. Vis is contributing editor of Dutch literary magazine De Gids (The Guide) and founder of De Internet Gids. He is lecturer-researcher at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam and theory lecturer at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, besides having guest lectured at several other European art universities. Vis is currently compiling the Indexicalist Manifesto.

What is artistic research? What is a research document? How do these relate to the making process, invention, and creativity? What exactly is expected of me? If you have ever asked yourself any of these questions, then this book is for you. Research For People Who (Think They) Would Rather Create addresses all relevant aspects that need to be considered during a research and documentation process, such as: finding the right topic and approach; formulating your research question; working out your methods; choosing one or more suitable writing styles; and considering the possible roles of visual, virtual, auditory, embodied, and spatial materials.

Research For People Who (Think They) Would Rather Create shows a multitude of examples from the field of art and design – each of which illustrates one specific aspect of developing a thesis, essay, paper, research document, or however else it may be referred to in your own setting. You can read this book from cover to cover, or you can immediately flip to those subjects which you find most relevant at any given moment. Ultimately, Research For People Who (Think They) Would Rather Create is an invitation to contribute – quite literally, with your own projects, examples, and questions – since the ultimate goal is to help you develop your own research.


Dirk Vis (1981) writes fiction, columns, scripts and essays on art and technology, mostly in Dutch. Vis lives and works in Amsterdam. He studied Image & Language at the Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam and Graphic Design at the Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam. His works of non-fiction and fiction have been published in Dutch: a limited edition of Bestseller (2009), the ebook The reality-essay (2017) and a series of texts in different forms and media e.g. chapbooks, performances, websites, etcetera. He's directed several video works based on his texts. Vis is contributing editor of Dutch literary magazine De Gids (The Guide) and founder of De Internet Gids. He is lecturer-researcher at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam and theory lecturer at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, besides having guest lectured at several other European art universities. Vis is currently compiling the Indexicalist Manifesto.