Designing a Better World: Adapting to the Evolving Role of Designers
Guiding Design Instructors in Supporting Designers in the Modern Era
Design is no longer just about creating products and services; it's about tackling complex socio-technical systems and systemic challenges such as climate change, poverty, and inequality. In this era, our methodologies and approaches must evolve, too. A leading figure in the design industry, Don Norman, is advocating this change, urging designers to engage in humanity-centered problem-solving to bring about real and sustainable changes for our planet.
Upending the Status Quo in Design Education
Don Norman, the co-founder of Nielsen Norman Group, is mobilizing the years to come's design professionals to employ design thinking to create tangible solutions for society's most pressing problems. A change that is far from impossible, thanks to a new way of viewing and dealing with issues—one that dives deeper into understanding root causes and implementing effective solutions.
Are you ready to redefine how you approach and educate design—or to embark on a design career with a focus on social responsibility? Let Don Norman's wisdom enlighten and inspire you in the following video!
Shaping the Designers of Tomorrow
To better equip designers to face the challenges of socio-technical and systemic problems, here are steps to revamp design education:
1. Prioritize Humanity and the Environment upcoming designs should consider the wider impact on society and the environment apart from usability. This means educating designers to see how their decisions influence communities and ecosystems on a large scale.
2. Incorporate Systems Thinking Drawing on his notion of user experience, Don Norman encourages designers to think about the entire ecosystem of users, technology, and environmental factors rather than isolated elements. Emphasizing systemic and socio-technical thinking in the curriculum will enable designers to understand and manipulate complex networks effectively.
3. Foster Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Learning There's power in unity. Don Norman's approach to education is team-based, dividing students to work on different aspects of a single challenge to promote diverse perspectives and collective problem-solving skills.
4. Create a Practical, Real-world Focus Incorporating real-world problems and action-based projects into the curriculum helps students grasp the societal context of their work and motivates them to design with purpose and impact.
5. Train in Emerging Technologies As technology evolves, so should our design practices. Don Norman suggests including AI technology as a powerful co-pilot in the design process, enabling designers to manage complexities and expand their creative and analytic potential.
Adapting design education in such ways will ensure that it is geared towards socio-technical and systemic challenges, fostering designers who achieve sustainable positive change for our world. Touching lives and nurturing our planet—one design at a time.
- In the evolving role of designers, interaction design will play a crucial part in education-and-self-development, as it empowers designers to create technology-driven solutions that cater to societal needs, thereby promoting learning across various domains.
- As we shape the designers of tomorrow, it is essential to focus on incorporating emerging technologies such as AI, not just for the sake of innovation, but to equip designers with the skills necessary to tackle complex systemic and socio-technical challenges in education, self-development, and beyond.
