After the big bang: what's next in design education? Time to relax?

The article "Big Bang technology: What's next in design education, radical innovation or incremental change?" (Fleischmann, 2013) appeared in the Journal of Learning Design Volume 6, Issue 3 in 2013. Two years on, Associate Professor Fleischmann reflects upon her original article

German Design Educators' Post-Covid Challenges: Online, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Government Data Restrictions

This research examines the experiences of German design educators during the Covid-19 pandemic and explores how these experiences influenced design education's transition to the online studio two years afterwards. The research is based on surveys of 33 German design educators who represent 18 higher education institutions (University/University of Applied Sciences) during the pandemic and 32 surveys and six follow up interviews two years later. This is the first study that focuses exclusively on design education in Germany by presenting a before-and-after contextual snapshot. The results present both positive and negative experiences of educators from a wide range of design domains. The ‘offshoring’ of the studio to Internet-based communication and file sharing platforms during the pandemic has profoundly altered the perceptions and practices of design educators in Germany, where governmental hurdles, such as data restriction laws, are blocking the full integration of online technology in design education. The findings focusing on German design educator experiences are presented within the context of their international colleagues' experiences from a study conducted earlier. This research also touches on the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the future of design education as well as a general trend to go offline by encouraging a back-to-campus policy

A successive approach to multidisciplinary teamwork in undergraduate design education: from dysfunctional to functional teams

The broadening scope of design is changing ways of engaging with stakeholder groups outside the design disciplines. The multidiscipline collaborative space is acknowledged as being essential for design students to experience whether in practical terms in a design project or when engaging in research-based inquiry. While more research is now available introducing various aspects of successful collaborations in design education there is still a lack of studies that explore how multidisciplinary teamwork can be introduced in undergraduate design education in practical terms. This paper reports on the introduction of a successive approach to multidisciplinary teamwork in an undergraduate media design degree. It provides unique insights on practical implications when preparing design students for a multidisciplinary and collaborative work environment in the workplace. The study explores multidisciplinary team functionalities, the effectiveness of the successive approach and hence explores whether changes in students learning occur though introducing students multiple times to multidisciplinary teamwork. A pragmatic research paradigm was applied to this study which reports on a three year trial. Perspectives from 235 second and third year media design students who participated in three multidisciplinary subjects are explored. Media design students were surveyed anonymously, using online questionnaires that collected quantitative and qualitative data. Findings suggest that through building on each learning experience students develop greater confidence to participate in multidisciplinary collaborations and learn to work with challenging people. Although some media design students felt they had been part of a dysfunctional team, it was the minority of students across the three subjects

Is the Design Studio Dead? - An International Perspective on the Changing Shape of the Physical Studio across Design Domains

The process of moving the physical design studio experience, where social interaction is a guiding principle, into a detached virtual environment during the Covid pandemic has prompted design educators to re-evaluate what constitutes a traditional studio-based learning system. This shift is based on classroom experiences after design educators moved their courses online as physical classrooms closed. Early research findings indicate that design educators and students adapted surprisingly well to an online classroom during the pandemic. But is this equally the case across all design domains? The author argues that it is unhelpful to generalise across design domains when setting out to construct alternative digital learning and teaching environments. This study contextualises varying responses to the online design studio and offers a unique international perspective on differences in design domains impacting future plans to offer blended or online learning. The research is underpinned by the epistemology of pragmatism. The interpretation of data is based on surveys filled out by 90 highly experienced design educators representing eight design domains in seven countries. Results indicate a clear shift toward long-term acceptance of select online elements even in design domains focused on physical studio skills. It is clear that design domains will differ in their adoption and development of blending face-to-face and online teaching in the future

Design-led innovation and Circular Economy practices in regional Queensland

The Circular Economy proposes a sustainable economic model that encourages businesses and governments to work toward the goal of conserving natural resources and reducing waste. This model largely relies on government policies that encourage waste reduction and help businesses creating markets to re-purpose that waste profitably. Design-led innovation offers methods to drive required business model transformation and is recognized as one of the key enablers in the transition to a Circular Economy. It is evident globally that metropolitan cities and countries with high innovation indices are better able to transition to a Circular Economy by applying design-led innovation. Although more populous states and densely populated cities in Australia have started to initiate Circular Economy practices, it is unclear if similar initiatives could be developed in regional economies in Australia and if design-led innovation has a role to play in their acceptance and development. This study is an exploration into two regional areas in the state of Queensland: the Sunshine Coast and North Queensland. The qualitative study explores the views of waste managers of local councils, small scale applications of the Circular Economy on two university campuses and an experiment to introduce a street of business owners to Circular Economy practices

Design evolution and innovation for tropical liveable cities: towards a circular economy

Design has become an important driver of economic innovation and better living globally. This paper looks at the evolution of design within the innovation space and how it is applied in tropical Singapore, a global financial center, and Townsville, a regional city in Australia’s tropical northeast. The general question of whether regional Australian cities can adopt and adapt large scale innovative practices is examined in the context of driving change in the Circular Economy. The role of design has evolved from the popular understanding of creating products, driving consumption and being a decorative discipline; to driving social, public and economic change. Cities like Singapore have been on the policy forefront to push design-led innovation to facilitate start-ups, spark economic development, re-imagine its future and on a human scale harmonize with its tropical setting. Design Thinking and Service Design Thinking as strategies for innovation play a crucial part in driving a paradigm shift in economic thinking away from unsustainable levels of consumerism and towards a Circular Economy. The future challenge for designers working toward a Circular Economy will require new ways of approaching services, processes and products that are good for business and sustainable development. Through higher education, Townsville design students took innovative steps to improve the quality of life for the elderly on a small scale, which illustrates a capacity for design-led innovation on a regional level that reflects large scale Service Design in Singapore

Design evolution and innovation for livable cities: toward a circular economy

Design has become an important driver of economic innovation and better living globally. This paper looks at the evolution of design within the innovation space and how it is applied in tropical cities. The role of design has changed from the popular understanding of creating products, driving consumption and being a decorative discipline to driving social, public and economic change. Tropical mega-cities like Singapore have been on the policy forefront to push design-led innovation to facilitate start-ups, spark economic development, re-imagine its future and on a human scale harmonize with its tropical setting. How are other tropical locations such as Townsville, a regional city in the northern Australia, comparing in their use of design-led innovation? Is there enough emphasis put on educating change makers to support service innovation like improving the quality of life for the elderly? The future challenge for designers will also involve working toward a Circular Economy which will require new ways of approaching services, processes and products that are good for business and sustainable developmen

Creative exchange: a multi-disciplinary learning and teaching innovation

For some time employers have identified that one of the most sought after graduate attributes is the ability to function as an effective member of a team. In the creative and performing arts disciplines, which are often individually oriented in nature, the development and implementation of curricula that enable students to attain high-level teamwork skills suitable for participation in multi-disciplinary collaboration is not only necessary but it can be challenging for both educators and students. Indeed the ability to evidence where and how students develop teamwork or collaborative skills will become increasingly critical, as a result of the impending standards framework that is soon to be implemented by the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA). This paper overviews the ways in which Creative Exchange, a multidisciplinary teaching and learning capstone subject offered by the School of Creative Arts at James Cook University since 2009, provides direct evidence of the ways in which students develop strong teamwork skills and attributes. In addition to teamwork skills, students also continue to develop discipline-specific knowledge as well as insights into industry and community settings, given the work-integrated learning orientation of the projects themselves. Data obtained from creative and performing arts students and alumni who previously participated in Creative Exchange are analysed, in order to report on the extent to which they had achieved appropriate standards required for industry. In addition, ongoing benchmarking of the Creative Exchange model via consultations with national and international industry practitioners is presented to further contextualise the findings. The paper concludes by discussing future applications of the framework as well as a range of additional research directions and opportunities

Managing Increasing Complexity in Undergraduate Digital Media Design Education: The impact and benefits of multidisciplinary collaboration

Increasing complexity is one of the most pertinent issues when discussing the role and future of design, designers and their education. The evolving nature of digital media technology has resulted in a profession in a state of flux with increasingly complex communication and design problems. The ability to collaborate and interact with other disciplines has recently been strongly articulated as an imperative skill for the future designer. How the education of such a designer is facilitated in practice is less well defined. The implementation of authentic problem-solving processes that introduce design students to workplace realities is often missing in design education. In order to manage the increasing complexities of design problems and technology a learning and teaching approach that facilitates the interaction of multiple disciplines was implemented and trialed over a period of two years in an undergraduate digital media design programme. This approach, known as the POOL model framework, is based on a ‘pool’ of resources and people to be applied as needed when responding to complex design problems. This paper focuses on the extent to which complex interactive design projects can be managed through multidisciplinary collaboration. Feedback from students and educators is presented and which reveals that the framework does provide an opportunity for students to resolve complex design and technological problems and contribute to project outcomes that could not be achieved when working individually

Women on walls: the female subject in modern graffiti art

Modern day wall art featuring women as subjects is usually painted by male artists, although women graffiti artists are challenging that male dominance and there are ample examples of their work on social media. The choice of women as subjects dates back to ancient Rome and Greece where idealized female images provided a template for desire, sexuality and goddess status. In modern times, wall artists present women as iconic subjects of power, renewal, and social commentary. Feminine graffiti appears to be idiosyncratic in its subject matter—the product of history, geography, culture and political discourse based on feminine power and influence. Although it is impossible to generalize stylistically about street artists, who are sui generis by their very nature–and wall art defies easy labelling–there are some patterns that are apparent when wandering city streets and encountering women subjects on walls. This photo-essay explores women who feature in wall art in open air galleries in Western Europe, South America and tropical Cuba and seeks to define female archetypes found in these examples. The historical antecedents to modern wall art are presented followed by specific examples of wall art featuring women; succinct interpretations are presented with each example. The journey takes us to Paris, Berlin and Venice, with a stopover in the small fishing town of Huanchaco, Peru, the colourful artistic hill city of Valparaiso, Chile and ends on the worn and tattered streets of tropical Havana, Cuba. In crossing the equator and cultural divide between Western Europe, South America and the Caribbean some surprising trends are suggested in this exploration of women on walls. Keywords: wall art, women in graffiti, city streets, tropical, female archetypes, Europe and South America graffit