Hm, that is a hard one to answer. Do you have a specific argument in mind? Are there areas lacking in materials science research that you want to focus on? Are there areas of design that you've heard of and would like to learn more?

One concept you might want to consider researching is the topic of "design thinking." (http://www.designstudiesforum.org/journal-articles/rethinking-design-thinking-part-i-2/)

The idea is that the approach to developing good design can be applied to other fields, out of the box questioning, environmental shifts to promote new perspective, and rapid prototyping methods for real-time feedback. There are critics of the practice stating that you can't apply an algorithm to the method as it waters down and prohibits free creative thinking (see big business ideas that have tried to commercialize it, like six sigma, etc) http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663558/design-thinking-is-a-failed-experiment-so-whats-next

As a designer, one of the biggest differences that I see between scientific method and design method is a sort of broad spectrum mode of thinking (granted, I do not work in applied sciences, so I may be missing some nuances in the process). Where scientific research is designed to verify or reject a specific outcome within controlled parameters, design research begins with a specific issue and in its deconstruction is open to any potential shifts that change the scope and/or intended outcome.

I would also consider expanding your inquiry from the discipline of Graphic Design. The field has changed tremendously and is now considered under the framework of Communication Design, which can include environmental graphics, UX (user experience) design, marketing, branding and identity systems, education, etc. The basic underlying principles of design permeate throughout the related disciplines (communication, architecture, industrial, environment, fashion, experience, etc). If I were to one-line it (which is sooooo hard to do for design), I would say that design is about the examining the full scope of components related to a situation/object/problem and arranging them synergetically for the most optimal outcome (vague enough?).

Knowledge can be of two kinds; Declarative Knowledge and Imperative Knowledge. e.g. your information of an engine (declarative) and your skills of driving a car with that engine (Imperative). It is sometimes referred as "Know What" and "Know How". The point is if you want to be creative in any field you will definitely need "Imperative Knowledge" or "Know How". The world of materials science is truly amazing but it is still studied as a "declarative knowledge" in many universities!!! Graphic Design however is well understood as an Imperative Knowledge, therefore lots of practical exercise are done by the followers.

I think there are methods in graphic design (and in other disciplines) that can be used in materials science studies where there is a lack of practice. Methods are tools to transfer the skills and insight. e.g. for many years the theory of dislocation is studied as a declarative knowledge in most of the universities. But how many times the students tried to sketch a few configuration of dislocations?

Thank you so much for your valuable answers and thoughts..

@Amin Jafari I totally agree with you on the fact of using the "powerful" graphic tools in education with the aim of simplifying and making things more clear and easier to grasp.. And that is exactly what I meant by bringing a new vision that could enhance the field of materials science and explain its bright insights in a modern and visual concept.

As mentioned above graphic design can certainly improve communication and knowledge transfer in materials science. Unfortunately, I don't see any way in which it would actually improve research. Sure some characterisation techniques where images are acquired benefit from improved image processing algorithms but I'm not sure that falls within the scope of graphic design.

Graphic portrayal of acquired images may lead to stimulating solution thoughts from student researchers in the process of using the graphic images in improved communication and knowledge transfer. Graphic design can stem from these thought processes to become realities after research.

The kind of linkage may be possible in finding solutions to material defects on the microstructural scale from acquired images from SEM,TEM, AFS etc

Data visualization is in my opinion a crucial skill that is lacking in alot of material science and solid state physics. In both measurement and theory we are often confronted with multi-dimentional datasets with diverse implications and varying degrees of importance. Being able to synthesize this into something a human can quickly analyze would be tremendous.

The human mind has been well conditioned over many many years to look for patterns, we should exploit this resource better.

salam

I think a bit different... In my idea Mr. Jafari is right, but we can look beyond. how about designing new classes of materials and textures considering graphical sketches?

It could be by using computational techniques

Just look at the page we are using to answer this question, remove all of the graphics from the page, would it still be as effective? good research is only as good as the ability to communicate the information to the masses and graphics help us do just that.