By proposing a new point of view on the world and society, research-creation moves away from the traditional conception of design as pure product development. While going beyond the academic frameworks of history, aesthetics or sociology, this innovative approach opens up a concrete horizon for reflection on the contemporary challenges of design and the disciplines of the humanities. It also makes it possible to establish a fertile dialogue between the different fields of creation.

Lysianne Léchot Hirt, who made a major contribution to the theorization of this approach, saw her field of investigation as a living matter, deeply rooted in everyday life and requiring to be observed with the gaze, she said, of an "ethnographer". This book brings together a selection of her most important essays, followed by several contributions from people who have worked in her wake, and whose thoughts still accompany her today. 

Contributions by Julie Enckell, Jean-Pierre Greff, Ruedi Baur, Davide Fornari, Jocelyne Le Boeuf, Rachel Mader, Anthony Masure, Alexandra Midal, Nicolas Nova and Sarah Owens.