The School of Design establishes the Urban and Rural Renewal Design Research Center and the Chinese Modern and Contemporary Design Literature Research Center, which has achieved fruitful academic research results. The teachers and students participate in the research on the protection and renewal design of natural villages and rural landscapes in the new round of Chinese urbanization construction, series studies on the visual communication of modern and contemporary commercial culture in Shanghai, research on the Chinese modern and temporary industrial design history, studies on creative industries in Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta, researches of special groups (the elderly, children, and the disabled) and more than 20 major scientific research projects undertaken by the School of Design.
The School of Design has completed and published 37 academic monographs in recent 5 years, represented by Da Ci Hai (Design Part) and 10-volume Chinese Industrial Design Road (national publication fund project), and published more than 100 professional academic papers, including 38 papers in C-type Journal. The academic monograph Design Made in Shanghai in both Chinese and English was exhibited at Frankfurt Book Fair and was well received by the academic circles at home and abroad. In addition, the School of Design actively organizes and participates in the joint research project for international universities and holds a series of international academic forums and annual meetings regularly each year, with the International Academic Annual Conference on Chinese Urban and Rural Renewal Design as the representative.
The teachers and students in the School of Design have obtained 159 design patents in recent 5 years, including 1 invention patent and 27 utility model patents.
