Blog Re: Educate
By Jon Kolko - October 20, 2010
It would appear that we’ve arrived: design has emerged as the discrete discipline of problem solving and cultural change, and the designerly ability described by Nigel Cross in 1995 as “a distinct form of intelligence” is now considered with some degree of respect in disciplines such as the sciences or the liberal arts.
That’s good, as a disciplinary acceptance of design work would imply that:
- Designers could spend less time justifying what we do and why we do it, and more time actually doing it
- Designers could work alongside and with other disciplines, rather than working instead of other disciplines (or being excluded by other disciplines)
- Designers could begin to further differentiate and structure nuances of specialty, allowing for a more impactful depth of practice and a larger degree of impact
- A larger “we” could benefit from a broader view of problems and opportunities, approaching issues from a multiplicity of perspectives simultaneously
Yet these statements aren’t necessary true, and as I traveled between three significantly different groups of thinkers at three different conferences, I interpreted a few trends as an indication of some of the largest “next steps” we face in achieving the above. I’ve summarized a few of these here.
Blog Re: Educate
By Jon Kolko - October 11, 2010
Design has been in a period of change for the last decade, but design education – and more specifically, design educators – just haven’t kept up. This is problematic and troubling for a number of reasons:
- Design students are continually learning tired and irrelevant methods and techniques
- Design graduates find themselves without either the breadth of relevance or the depth of expertise to get a job
- Students and parents generally fail to realize a “return on investment” in an increasingly expensive college education
Perhaps most fundamentally, the potential impact of thousands of well intentioned design students is not realized, as these individuals have the passion and cultural sensitivity necessary to take on large-scale social problems and gnarly business issues, but are not afforded the skills and methods necessary to appropriately engage.
Blog Re: Educate
By Jon Kolko - September 8, 2010
Many of us who studied under Richard Buchanan at Carnegie Mellon University are familiar with his four orders of design: a framework that include symbols, things, action, and thought. Our professional focus in design has generally evolved in complexity, mapping to these orders - graphic design to symbols, industrial design to things, interaction design to action. Now, we arrive at a place of designed thought, which Buchanan has mapped to system and environmental design.
Blog Re: Educate
By Jon Kolko - July 22, 2010
I just finished kicking off the IxDA's sponsored project with Boulder Digital Works, here in Boulder, CO. The IxDA conference will be here in Boulder in February of 2011, and as part of the conference, the Interaction Design Association is sponsoring a comprehensive system and interaction design problem with BDW's incoming class of students. The students are focusing on the space between venues - from the Denver airport, to the various conference venues and to the hotels. They'll do contextual research, synthesize that into meaningful insights, develop prototypes, and build out interactive solutions. The focus of our project is on creating magic - memorable interactions that attendees bring with them long after the event is over. It's a similar challenge to that given to frog by our clients; how can we transcend "innovation" to create something that's authentic and magical? Solutions are driven by emotions - by empathizing with and leveraging the emotional qualities of the audience, making connections with memories and aspirations.
The students at BDW represent one of the most vivid shifts in educational approaches in recent years - a completely studio-focused interdisciplinary group of graphic designers, marketers, and technologists, all working to apply the process of design to complex problems with multiple touchpoints and comprehensive service delivery. BDW's program is poised to take on more established offerings, and the "old guard" of design - Pratt and RISD - can't sit back on their laurels and rest, as BDW is doing more with less, faster, and with more passion. It's David the startup, taking on the various goliaths that have become unfortunately complacent in the art and design education space. And it's one of many new programs that are cropping up that fundamentally challenge the rigidity of traditional design education approaches.
Watch BDW for their future alumni, and consider attending the IxDA conference - it's sure to be the event of the year.
Blog Re: Educate
By Laura Seargeant Richardson - March 10, 2010
Photo (cc) by Flickr user Leo Reynolds.
An open letter to the next generation of designers, part 1.
