A Gower Book

Design Pedagogy
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Design Pedagogy

Developments in Art and

Design Education

Edited by
MIKe TOVeY
First published 2015 by Gower Publishing

Published 2016 by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

Copyright © 2015 Mike Tovey

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form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
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without permission in writing from the publishers.

Mike Tovey has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be
identified as the editor of this work.

Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 9781472415981 (hbk)

ISBN: 9781315576695 (ebk)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Design pedagogy : developments in art and design education / [compiled] by Mike Tovey.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4724-1598-1 (hardback) -- ISBN 978-1-4724-1599-8 (ebook) -- ISBN 978-1-4724-
1600-1 (epub) 1. Industrial design--Study and teaching. 2. Design--Study and teaching. I.
Tovey, Mike.
TS171.44.D474 2015
745.2071--dc23
2014031286
 Contents

List of Figures ix
List of Tables xi
List of Contributors   xiii

Introduction   1

PART 1 SETTING THE SCENE

1 Design Education Research: Its Context, Background and

Approaches   17
Eddie Norman
Towards Generalised Models for Design Education Research   18
Designerly Research Methods   21
Effective Design Education Research Contributions   24
References   33

2 Design Education as the Passport to Practice   37

Michael Tovey
Communities of Practice   38
Design Communities   40
The Community of Practice of Automotive Designers   43
Engaging the Profession in Design Education   46
Conclusions   48
References   49

3 Designerly Thinking and Creativity   51

Michael Tovey
Designerly Knowing   52
Types of Intelligence   54
Design Thinking as Dual Processing   54
The Analysis Synthesis Dual-processing Model   57
Parallel Lines of Thought   58
Reflective Practice   60
Developing Design Thinking   61
vi DESIGN PEdAGOGY

Teaching Design   62
Conclusion   64
References   65

PART 2 KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN DESIGN PEDAGOGY

4 Fostering Motivation in Undergraduate Design Education   69

Steve Garner and Chris Evans
Introduction   69
Understanding Motivation   70
Motivation and Designing   73
Learning and Teaching Motivation in Design   77
Motivated Professional Designers   79
References   80

5 Signature Pedagogies in Design   83

Alison Shreeve
What are Signature Pedagogies?   83
Why is it Important to Identify Signature Pedagogies?   84
The Studio   85
Projects and the Brief   86
Materiality   87
Dialogue   88
The Crit   88
Research as a Signature Pedagogy?   89
Differing Signature Pedagogies   90
Conclusion   91
References   92

6 The Experience of Teaching a Creative Practice: An

Exploration of Conceptions and Approaches to Teaching,
Linking Variation and the Community of Practice   95
Linda Drew
Introduction   95
Qualitative Method   98
Conceptions of Teaching Creative Practices   99
Quantitative Method   103
Skills Items   105
Practice Items   106
Results   106
Discussion   108
 CONTENTS vii

References   109

7 Transformative Practice as a Learning Approach for

Industrial Designers   113
Karen Bull
Design Learning in a Contemporary Context    113
Constructive, Abductive and Solution-led Thinking   115
Building on the Baseline Capability of a Design Student   119
Design Thinking for Global Competitiveness   120
A Good Setting for Industrial Design Learning   121
Learning to ‘Unthink’ Ways of Doing Design Thinking   124
Building a Scaffolded Approach   124
A Designerly Way of Knowing and Behaving   125
Transformative Practice Approaches Within the Industrial
Design Curriculum 127
Conclusion   130
References   131

8 Industrial Design and Liminal Spaces   135

Jane Osmond
Introduction   135
Threshold Concepts in Industrial Design   137
Liminal Spaces   138
Impact on the Curriculum   142
The Industrial Design Curriculum    143
Conclusion   145
References   146

9 Developing Tools to Support Collaboration and

Understanding during Industrial Design Practice   151
Mark Evans, Ian Campbell and Eujin Pei
Introduction   151
Background   152
Phase 1: Identification of Barriers to Communication   154
Phase 2: Investigating the Use of Design Representations   158
Phase 3: Development of Design Tool    163
Phase 4: Dissemination and Impact   168
Implications of CoLab and iD Cards for Design Education   173
Conclusions   174
References   175
viii DESIGN PEdAGOGY

10 The Use of Design Case Studies in Design Education   181

Seymour Roworth-Stokes and Tim Ball
Introduction   181
Background   181
Methodology   183
Analysis   185
Findings   187
Teaching Case Studies in Design   190
Case Based Methodologies   192
Practice/Case-based Methodologies   193
Experimental/Comparative Case   194
An Illustrative Case Study   195
The Evolution of Case-based Designing (CBD)   197
Feedback and Learning Outcomes   202
Issues of Rigor and Validity   206
Conclusions   208
Acknowledgement   210
References   210

11 Amplifying Learners’ Voices through the Global Studio   215

Aysar Ghassan and Erik Bohemia
Introduction   215
The Master–Apprentice Model   216
Pressures on Design Students   216
Criticism of the Master–Apprentice Model   218
Storytelling and the Design Graduate   221
The Global Studio   224
Students’ Reflections and Discussion   227
Conclusion   230
References   231

12 Conclusions   237
Michael Tovey   237

Index   243
 List of Figures

1.1 Model for factors affecting children’s decision-making in

design and technology   21
1.2 Human capabilities and a hierarchy of competences in the
context of designing   27
2.1 The roots of the design community   41
2.2 The interrelated nature of a community of practice   43
3.1 Dual-processing model of the design process   56
3.2 Linear and simultaneous processing   57
3.3 The concept of diagonal thinking   58
7.1 A modular learning framework   114
7.2 Core attributes of design thinking   117
7.3 The elements for growth   118
7.4 Modules brought together by the project    121
7.5 Stuck in a liminal space   123
7.6 The transformative space   127
7.7 Design roots sculptures   128
7.8 The wheel of design   129
8.1 Outcome space in hierarchical form   141
9.1 Design and technical information present in sketches   161
9.2 Design and technical information present in drawings   162
9.3 Design and technical information present in models   162
9.4 Design and technical information present in prototypes   163
9.5 Idea sketch cards for design tool   165
9.6 Revised version of the cards for the sketches section of the
taxonomy   166
9.7 iD cards   170
9.8 Folded-out front face of iD cards   171
9.9 Folded-out rear face of iD cards   172
9.10 Idea sketch card on iD cards   173
10.1 Design studies by case study by type   188
10.2 Case studies by subject   189
10.3 Case studies by theme   189
10.4 Teaching case studies by subject   190
10.5 Teaching case studies by theme   191
x DESIGN PEdAGOGY

10.6 Teaching cases by type   192

10.7 Research board   197
10.8 Concept sketches (1)   198
10.9 Concept sketches (2)   199
10.10 Final design proposals (1)   199
10.11 Final design proposals (2)   200
 List of Tables

1.1 Originators of contributions to IDATER and D&T

Association Conferences and the 2011 DRS/Cumulus
Conference   30
1.2 Research approaches of contributors to IDATER and D&T
Association Conferences and the 2011 DRS/Cumulus
Conference   31
1.3 Research intentions of contributors to IDATER and D&T
Association Conferences and the 2011 DRS/Cumulus
Conference   31
6.1 Conceptions of teaching creative practices: outcome space   103
6.2 Principal components factor analysis (with varimax
rotation) results of the nine skills/practice inventory items   105
6.3 Factor analysis of all four scales    106
6.4 Correlation analyses (Pearson, r) for the four scales in the
ATI-ADC   107
7.1 Core attributes of design thinking   116
8.1 The toleration of design uncertainty   138
8.2 Six design lenses. Adapted from Daly et al., 2012: 198–204   141
9.1 Questions used during semi-structured interviews   155
9.2 Matrix of 61 problem categories tabulated from interviews   156
9.3 Categories of sketch, drawing, model, prototype and
categories of design information and technical information   160
10.1 The journals by rank order, data originally cited in
Friedman et al. (2008, Annex A)   184
10.2 Criteria to define a ‘case study’ drawn from Yin (1993) and
Chetty (1996)   184
10.3 Search results   185
10.4 Different approaches to case study research   186
10.5 Teaching schedule for module   196
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 List of Contributors

Michael Tovey

Michael Tovey is Professor of Industrial Design, and Reader in Design Pedagogy

at Coventry University. He joined the institution following a period of practice
in industry and was responsible for the establishment and development of
transport design at Coventry. This has now achieved international prominence
and centre of excellence status. He was Dean of the Coventry School of Art
and Design for 18 years. During this time it doubled in size, incorporated
performing arts, achieved strong research rankings and a very positive identity
and profile.

He pioneered design research, contributing to publications and holding

a number of research council grants. He has served on research council
committees, supervised and refereed grants and publications.

Much of his research work has been concerned with the design process and
how designers work. There has been a particular focus on the use of computer
support for the creative aspects of design. The context for this work has been
concept design in the automotive industry and the development of novel
techniques to support the design activity. He also pioneered the portfolio Ph.D.
and this work is a useful summary of much of his research activity.

From 2007 to 2010 he was Director for Design and responsible for leading
and co-ordinating design education and design research across the university.
In addition to his cross-university role he was Director of CEPAD (the Centre
of Excellence in Product and Automotive Design). It has strong links with the
Industrial Design Department, as well as connecting with other parts of both
the Coventry School or Art and Design, and the rest of the university.

He is a member of the Council of the Design Research Society and leads its
Special Interest Group in Design Pedagogy.
xiv DESIGN PEdAGOGY

Tim Ball

Tim Ball is Senior Lecturer, Industrial Design, Coventry School of Art and
Design. He is a designer and educator in product and industrial design with
a broad range of subject expertise and interests. From people to emergent
materials and processes, architecture to pocket-sized items, there are many
influences on his thinking; exploring the exciting, collaborative spaces between
disciplines that yield new thinking. Design practice and collaboration has
forged an extensive network that informs, supports and inspires his teaching.
He enjoys the interplay between understanding experiences, the flux of
design teaching, the quest for new knowledge, meanings and learning with his
students.

Erik Bohemia

Erik Bohemia is a Senior Lecturer at the Loughborough Design School,

Loughborough University, United Kingdom. Dr Bohemia’s ongoing research
interest is examining product development processes in geographically
distributed and cross-cultural product development teams. The results from
his research in this area have been used to guide the development of curriculum
in design so that future graduates may more effectively fulfil industry
requirements. Dr Bohemia’s research has been published in international
journals and conferences. For more information visit [Link]

Karen Bull

Karen Bull is Associate Head of Student Experience within the Department

of Industrial Design at Coventry University. She is responsible for pedagogic
development and teaching of design research methods, critical and creative
thinking at all levels of higher education study. Her Ph.D., Advanced Personal
Telecommunications Products and Industrial Design, is where she developed
significant interest in industrial design methodology and design research
pedagogy. Karen was Deputy Director for the Coventry University CETL
Centre of Excellence in Product and Automotive Design (CEPAD) and focused
on developing an understanding of higher education transformative learning
experiences within the field of industrial design.
 LISt OF CONtRIbUtORS xv

Ian Campbell

After graduating from Brunel University in 1985, Ian Campbell worked as a

design engineer, first in Ford Motor Company, and later in the Rover Group.
In 1989, he was appointed as a Senior Teaching Fellow for CAD/CAM at the
University of Warwick, where he undertook a part-time [Link]. degree by
research. In 1993, he obtained a lectureship at the University of Nottingham
and gained his Ph.D., again through part-time study, in 1998. His current
position, since October 2000, is Reader in Computer-aided Product Design at
Loughborough University in the Design School. Dr Campbell is editor of the
Rapid Prototyping journal.

Linda Drew

Professor Linda Drew BA (Hons) MA Ph.D. FRSA FDRS has been Deputy
Director at the Glasgow School of Art since 2011. As the most senior academic
at the school, she provides leadership in learning, teaching and research. She
is currently Chair of Council for Higher Education in Art and Design. Her
research focuses on learning and teaching in an art and design practice with
both a phenomenographic approach and a social constructivist outlook. Linda’s
Ph.D. is in educational research from Lancaster [Link] is founding
editor of the highly regarded peer-reviewed research journal Art, Design and
Communication in Higher Education, published by Intellect books for over 10
years.

Chris Evans

Chris Evans is Programme Director, [Link]. Product Design at Aston University,

Birmingham. He has created and taught a wide variety of innovative design
courses in different UK Universities since 1989. These have been underpinned
by 20 years of professional design and management experience with leading
manufacturing organisations – designing toys, consumer electronics, transport
systems, vehicles, cookware, kitchen equipment, tableware, glass and ceramics.
Chris’s teaching and practice reveal his core design philosophy: that successful
design can only come about through a melding of creativity and innovation
with an appropriate engineering and technological knowledge plus an effective
understanding of markets and user requirements.
xvi DESIGN PEdAGOGY

Mark Evans

Mark Evans is a Reader in Industrial Design and leader of Loughborough’s

Design Practice Research Group. Prior to joining the University he was a
corporate/consultant designer with clients including British Airways, Bosch
and Honda. His research focuses on supporting design practice through the
development of tools/resources and impact of digital technologies on creative
practice. Overseas appointments include International Scholar, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and visiting professor, Rhode Island School of
Design. Research funding has been received from organisations including the
Department of Trade and Industry, Industrial Designers Society of America,
Research Councils UK, Hewlett Packard and Royal Academy of Engineering.

Steve Garner

Steve Garner has led some of the United Kingdom’s most innovative and
popular design programmes, most recently as professor of design at The
Open University and formerly as programme leader for Industrial Design
and Technology at Loughborough University. Now working as an education
consultant he has examined design at secondary, undergraduate, masters and
Ph.D. level. Originally a designer in the furniture industry he has contributed
to the development of e-learning in design, the use of sketch representations
in design, usability in product design and computer-supported collaborative
designing.

Aysar Ghassan

Aysar Ghassan’s role as a teacher of automotive design at Coventry University

is underpinned by his research and his experience as a multifaceted
practitioner. He is passionate about integrating the delivery of practical skills
and theoretical discourse in design education. Aysar’s research into peer-
tutoring and professional identity formation reflects the need to broaden the
curriculum to prepare students for the global nature of contemporary design
practice and the wider knowledge economy. His research interests also include
contributions to the development of a contextual understanding of both user-
experience research and design for sustainability. Furthermore, Aysar writes
design-focused journalistic articles aimed at disseminating research to a
broader audience.
 LISt OF CONtRIbUtORS xvii

Eddie Norman

Eddie Norman is Emeritus Professor of Design Education at Loughborough

Design School (LDS). His research concerns the relationship of technologies
and designing in general and higher education, and associated pedagogical
issues. He led the Design Education Research Group and supervised seven
successful Ph.D. students. He contributed to teaching on LDS’ undergraduate
and masters programmes. He has edited IDATER (1998–2002), D&T Association
Conferences (2002–009); and from 2005, Design and Technology Education:
An International Journal. Prior to joining LDS he had careers in secondary
education and as a welding research engineer. Since retiring he has co-founded
Loughborough Design Press with Ken Baynes.

Jane Osmond

Jane Osmond is a Research Fellow for the Centre of Excellence for Product
and Automotive Design (CEPAD) at Coventry University. Her current research
includes pedagogy in relation Art and Design, using the threshold concept
theory; the development of an EU transport passenger measurement tool as
part of an FP7 project, and researching gender and public spaces, with a focus
on public transport. She was awarded her Ph.D. through published work in
2014.

Eujin Pei

Dr Eujin Pei is a Senior Lecturer in Product and Furniture Design at De

Montfort University in the United Kingdom. His primary research focuses on
design representations and additive manufacture. He worked as a Research
Fellow at leading institutions including Loughborough University, Brunel
University and the University of Southampton. Prior to joining DMU, he was
a product design consultant undertaking work for Motorola Inc., LM Ericsson,
and Rentokil Initial. Dr Pei is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts,
Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), and an Associate Editor for the Journal of
Assembly Automation.
xviii DESIGN PEdAGOGY

Seymour Roworth-Stokes

Seymour Roworth-Stokes is Executive Dean and Professor of Design at

Coventry School of Art and Design. He is Chair of the Design Research Society
and a Strategic Reviewer for the Arts and Humanities Research Council. An
industrial designer, his research explores our understanding of experiential
knowledge generated through creative practice and how it can lead to
improvements in organisational performance. In 2012, he was presented with
the PODIUM Gold award on behalf of LOCOG for the best Higher Education
Cultural and Creative initiative of the London games after leading a £2 million
consortium project to generate artwork for the Olympic Park.

Alison Shreeve

Professor Alison Shreeve is Head of School, Design, Craft and Visual Arts at
Buckinghamshire New University and previously the Director of Creative
Learning in Practice Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CLIP
CETL) at the University of the Arts London.

She has a Masters in Art Education and a Ph.D. in Educational Research.

Research interests include the student and tutor experience in creative arts
higher education. She has published articles in international journals and
contributed to several books. She is associate editor of the journal Art, Design
and Communication in Higher Education and a National Teaching Fellow.
 Reviews for
Design Pedagogy

Design research has led to a deep understanding of the nature of

design that will be important in guiding design practice in the 21st
century. In parallel a growing body of research into design education
is having a similar impact on design pedagogy. This book presents
excellent examples of such research with wide application across design
education.

Chris McMahon, University of Bristol, UK and

immediate Past-President, the Design Society

This is an excellent and timely contribution to the development of our

understanding of design teaching. As leader of the Design Research
Society’s Design Pedagogy special interest group, Mike Tovey has
brought together several of its leading members to crystallize thinking
in the field. Research in design pedagogy is flourishing and this book
provides a significant contribution to the debate.

Tracy Bhamra, Dean of Loughborough Design School,

Loughborough University, UK
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 Introduction

In our universities and colleges there is a long tradition of teaching design

through design practice. For most students their end goal is to achieve a level
of capability to function as designers in the professional world. In order to
reach this standard students need to achieve a level of professional ‘polish’ and
presentation to match that of the practising designer. However, it can also be
argued that the key to their doing this lies in their abilities to think in a solution-
focused way employing visuospatial intellectual abilities. Most particularly if
they cannot think creatively they will not achieve the required standard. The
ability to engage in the creative synthesis of ideas through design thinking is
essential if they wish to gain entry to the community of professional practice.

Today it is vital that their education helps them construct a ‘passport’ to enter
this professional group. For many design students the physical manifestation
of their passport to design practice is their portfolio of design work. It is in this
assemblage of work that they demonstrate that they can tackle design problems
to a standard that is recognisable as appropriate in a professional arena. In this
they show that they can think in a ‘designerly’ way. The communication is
primarily through visual means, and good drawing and modelling skills are
very important. But it can be argued that demonstrating the ability to think
creatively – and more particularly the creative synthesising of ideas and
problems through design thinking – is the most important capability required
to achieve this passport to enter the community of professional practice.

Recent research into design teaching has focused on its signature pedagogies
– those elements which are particularly characteristic of the disciplines. Much
of the most productive work has been based on core design theory, although
this has often been enlivened by philosophies and approaches imported to
the area. Most importantly such work has utility when it recognises the visual
language of designing, the media of representation used, and the practical
realities of tackling design questions. Increasingly the twenty-first century
sees these activities in a global context where the international language of the
visual artefact is recognised.
2 DESiGN PEdAGOGY

This book draws on recent work in these areas. It includes a number of

chapters which are developed from work undertaken during the period of
special funding for centres of teaching excellence in the UK up until 2010.
Two of those in design have provided the basis for research and innovative
developments reported on here. They have helped to enliven the environment
for design pedagogy research in other establishments which are also included.

The Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Between 2005 and 2010 in England there was major funding for the development
of teaching and learning in universities. The Centres for Excellence in Teaching
and Learning (CETL) initiative represented the funding council’s largest single
funding initiative in pedagogy. It had two aims: to reward excellent teaching
practice, and to further invest in that practice so that CETLs funding could
deliver substantial benefits to students, teachers and institutions (HEFCE,
2011).

Seventy-four centres were funded across a range of universities, and

within them a huge variety of types of pedagogic research and development
was undertaken, across all discipline areas, much of it interdisciplinary and
collaborative. Communities of Practice (CoP) figured quite noticeably within
their range of activities, particularly in the area of professional development.
A CoP was defined in that context as ‘a group of people coming together
from different disciplines or within a discipline for a common interest –
pedagogical or subject-focused’. Sometimes these were formally organised
within a discipline, and sometimes cross-faculty. It would seem that this type
of arrangement would only loosely accord with Lave and Wenger’s definition
of a community of practice (Wenger 2007). However, it can be seen as evidence
of the widespread currency of the notion within the initiative.

Across the 74 centres some 17 touched on ‘creative arts and design’ and
thus may have been working in areas directly relevant to design pedagogy. Of
course the many generic approaches which the centres engaged with may also
have covered areas relevant to it. The number of centres which had a direct
location in design schools was much smaller, and two of them covered work
which focused directly on the development of practice-based education as a
preparation for entry to the design profession. They were the Creative Learning
in Practice (CLIP) CETL at the University of the Arts London, and the Centre
of Excellence for Product and Automotive Design (CEPAD) CETL at Coventry
University. CLIP had the specific aim to identify, evaluate and disseminate
 iNtROdUctiON 3

effective practice-based teaching and learning in the context of the creative

industries. Similarly CEPAD was specifically orientated to facilitating the
creation of portfolios which provided access to the community of international
industrial design practice. Since 2010 staff who had been involved in those
centres have carried on with developments in these areas.

Practice-based Teaching

Both CLIP and CEPAD operated in contexts where the pedagogy is predominantly
studio-based. Traditionally art and design teaching is predicated on learning
through doing, usually through the simulation of a professional situation by
the means of a project brief. Students are neophyte designers engaged in the
journey towards entering the community of professional practice of design.

The approach, which is typical of practiced-based design teaching, has a

number of characteristics (Shreeve, Waring and Drew, 2008). Students are from
the outset practitioners, often with long periods on projects, usually calling for
a number of technical skills, and much activity is studio- and workshop-based.
Assessment and feedback is usually through the ‘crit’ or ‘critique’ augmented
by much peer learning. With less emphasis on formal knowledge there is
acceptance of open-ended solutions, varieties of practice and tacit knowledge.
Students are expected to become independent, self-analytical, critical thinkers,
in an environment which does not emphasise theory, but does embrace key
skills. Often a good proportion of the teaching staff are also practicing artists
or designers.

Further Developments

This initiative to support a major investment in research and development

for teaching and learning in English Universities with two centres where the
pedagogy of design practice was a primary focus, served to embrace and utilise
the idea of a community of practice as providing the arena for effective teaching
and learning. This had particular resonance for the pedagogy of design practice
with its natural emphasis on utilising members of the relevant professional
communities within the teaching and learning arrangements. It also gave a
focus to realising the explicit ambition of students of achieving the means to
enter such communities of professional practice. These can be seen to require
particular arrangements for studio teaching with partnership working. For some
the crucial ability is to travel through an uncertainty threshold to achieve the
4 DESiGN PEdAGOGY

transformative learning which is a key component in a community of practice.

The legacy of these initiatives is not only the implementation of curriculum
arrangements which embody these developments but also continuing research
into the pedagogy of design practice.

One consequence was that a number of the staff who had worked in the
centres formed the core of the Design Research Society’s Special Interest Group
in Design Pedagogy which was formed in 2009. The DRS has three main aims. It
focuses on recognising design as a creative act, common to many disciplines. It
has the intention of understanding research and its relationship with education
and practice. Then there is the overall aim of advancing the theory and practice
of design. The membership of DRS is international.

The Society’s Special Interest Group in Design Pedagogy is one of five

in the society. It aims to bring together design researchers, teachers and
practitioners, and others responsible for the delivery of design education, and
to clarify and develop the role of design research in providing the theoretical
underpinning for design education. These aims are not directed simply at one
type of design education, but are intended to include all ages. However, as the
current membership of DRS is predominantly from universities, inevitably the
research stream has concentrated on design education at that level. What is
clear is that providing the research background to design education is one of
the core purposes of DRS.

The Design Pedagogy SIG has now been able to collaborate with the
CUMULUS organisation and others to bring into existence two research
conferences in design pedagogy. Following the success of the first joint
symposium for researchers into design education in Paris in May 2011, a
second joint conference was held in Oslo from 14–17 May 2013. Its title was
‘Design Learning for Tomorrow: Design Education from Kindergarten to PhD’,
and it was hosted by the School of Arts, Design and Architecture of Oslo and
Akershus University College of Applied Sciences. With some 266 delegates
and a very high standard of papers, the conference was a tremendous success.
In these arenas the developments stemming from the CETLs have had wider
international exposure and have contributed to the growing strength of design
education research as a strand within design research overall.

Furthermore the chapters in this book are provided by members of that

Special Interest Group. They are organised in two sections. The first is devised
to set the scene, and the second to report on key developments in design
pedagogy.
 iNtROdUctiON 5

Part 1: Setting the Scene

CHAptER 1: DESiGN EdUcAtiON RESEARcH: ItS CONtEXt,

BAcKGROUNd ANd AppROAcHES

In this chapter Eddie Norman describes and discusses the development of

research in design education through the designer, the design context and the
design interface, and the background to developments in design pedagogy.
He begins by discussing the problematic nature of design education research:
the essential requirement for continuous curriculum development and the
difficulties of making effective research contributions in this context. The
characteristics and distinctions between design education in general and
higher education are presented, and the consequential differences in research
priorities discussed. Design in general education reflects conceptions of
designing as a general human capability; and, in particular, the modes of
thinking and learning that are made possible through designing, as opposed
to the sciences and the humanities. This leads to a consideration of graphicacy,
in contrast to numeracy and literacy, as a key human capability that makes
designing possible. Design in higher education is characterised by the need
to prepare students in particular design areas. Successful practice in different
design areas requires the development of particular knowledge, skills and
values, and hence a variety of course programmes and structures within higher
education. The conception of design areas within the design field is presented
and the differences in the associated knowledge skills and values illustrated.

He substantiates this position through an analysis of the theoretical

positions underlying designerly approaches to research to this area, including
case studies from the IDATER series of conferences, and its successors. From
these he identifies three categories of design education research: the designer,
the design context and the design interface, each of which provides a useful
agenda for developing design education research.

CHAptER 2: DESiGN EdUcAtiON AS tHE PASSpORt tO PRActicE

Central to the notion of a ‘passport to design practice’ is the recognition of

the existence of groups as ‘communities of design practitioners’. Where such
communities are national and wear the badge of a professional body or society
they are easy to identify and quite visible. However, there are other less formal
international communities of design practice whose influence can be just as
profound.
6 DESiGN PEdAGOGY

In this chapter Mike Tovey describes such communities within design as

a related family. A powerful example is that of the community of practice of
automotive designers. There are car design studios in all of the major industrial
countries of the world, and the designers who work in them typically share
their passion for automobiles and each time a new vehicle concept is revealed
by one studio it causes interest and excitement in others. For an international
community to function it is important that there is communication between its
members. For automotive designers this is supplemented by online resources
such as the Car Design News (CDN) website.

Students who wish to become proficient as designers devote their time to

engaging with design project activity. This develops in intensity and detail
and as students become more experienced they are able to tackle progressively
more complex design problems. Typically the end goal is that of achieving a
level of capability to function as designers in the professional world. That is,
they wish to become part of the community of design practitioners. Today it is
vital that their education is constructed so as to involve the design profession
and mimic its practice.

CHAptER 3: DESiGNERlY THiNKiNG ANd CREAtiVitY

In this chapter Mike Tovey proposes a model of designing as a process

which involves a peculiar and particular blend of thinking processes, which
are the distinguishing characteristics shared by different sorts of designer.
The designerly way of knowing makes use of various forms of intelligence,
particularly visuospatial thinking. It is a peculiar and complex process which
typically addresses those questions which are not precisely formulated and
developed, or ‘wicked problems’. Design thinking involves the use of parallel
lines of thought deploying serial and simultaneous cognition. These can be
corralled into two streams in a dual-processing model which aligns them with
the preferred thinking styles of the two halves of the brain.

Such a model is consistent with a ‘solution-led’ approach and this is

fundamental to its being a creative activity. It can encompass lateral thinking
and diagonal thinking, which are examples of how such thinking skills can
be taught and developed. At the core of the designerly way of knowing is a
conversation between these modes of thought. Reflective practice is identified
as an approach in which tacit knowledge can be deployed in reframing both the
problem, and the solution. Various teaching strategies can accommodate these
approaches. The studio, tutorial, library and crit are the traditional components,
 iNtROdUctiON 7

but using them effectively depends on the approach being informed by a deep
understanding of the designerly way of knowing.

Part 2: Key Developments in Design Pedagogy

CHAptER 4: FOStERiNG MOtiVAtiON iN UNdERGRAdUAtE DESiGN

EdUcAtiON

Designers are trained to deal with conflicting requirements and opportunities,

and their ways of investigating problems and prototyping ideas are frequently
aimed at exposing conflict to bring it out into the open. This requires a familiarity
with a multidimensional landscape of design and designing.

In this chapter Steve Garner and Chris Evans discuss the role of student
motivation in education. The nature of such motivation has been widely
documented including the need to expose learners to challenge, risk and
reward. However, there have been huge changes in learning and teaching and
so fostering motivation is a very different challenge to even a decade ago.

Developing motivation in design education today presents some particular

difficulties and opportunities. This chapter examines the vital stimulus of
motivation in undergraduate product design education. It seeks to illuminate
how students might develop their motivation through strategies such as
developing curiosity,handling conflict, embracing failure and effective self-
management that are sympathetic to design ideation and creative evaluation.
In essence motivation supports effective creative and analytical thinking.

Those leading design education in universities place great emphasis on

developing skills and knowledge, yet many expect students to automatically
possess the necessary motivation for operating across today’s design practice.
Sometimes those who create design education assume their students must
have the same drive and enthusiasm as themselves, while others assume that a
hunger for success in the form of assignment grades or career opportunities is
sufficient motivation. One might imagine that most designers are motivated by
money, but the most powerful rewards in design are often those associated with
being part of successful innovation, working as part of a team to successfully
get a product into the marketplace where it’s well received. It’s here that
undergraduate design courses can overlook such ‘emotional’ motivation and,
even worse, create irrelevant reward systems.