Systems thinking and connecting the silos of design education
Year: 2013
Editor: John Lawlor, Ger Reilly, Robert Simpson, Michael Ring, Ahmed Kovacevic, Mark McGrath, William Ion, David Tormey, Erik Bohemia, Chris McMahon, Brian Parkinson
Author: Park, Hyuna; Benson, Eric
Series: E&PDE
Institution: 1: Memphis College of Art, United States of America; 2: University of Illinois, United States of America
Section: Innovation in Teaching
Page(s): 277-281
ISBN: 978-1-904670-42-1
Abstract
While the design industry is a complex and multidimensional landscape, the current design curriculum lives in stark contrast: linear and compartmentalized. University product design curricula are mainly insular, where studio art is separated from liberal arts courses, despite their close physical and theoretical proximities. While this separation allows students to effectively attain proficiency in skillsets relevant to the product design discipline, students do not learn how liberal arts education can complement their design knowledge. These silos of practice stand in opposition to the type of creative processes and collaborations necessary to help solve the issues that humanity faces today. Wicked problems1 like climate change must be discussed in design education. The solutions to these problems mandate collaboration with other disciplines such as anthropology and/or engineering. This article is a proposal for new research examining how a liberal arts âintegratedâ design education may enhance the design studentsâ systems thinking abilities. A more effective design curriculum will need to employ a systems thinking methodology, so a project can be viewed as a part of an entire system of connected concerns. This mode of thinking would not render the designer a generalist, but instead one that is always seeking to collaborate and explore outcomes outside of their typical artifacts. This article will also examine how the current product design education is structured and, despite the differences in the teaching and learning environment of liberal arts courses are different from studio art courses, they could and should work together effectively.
Keywords: Integrated education system, interdisciplinary, liberal arts, systems thinking