Developing citizen designers

Abstract

As the design industry evolves, so too does design education. Design, as a discipline as well as a mode of reasoning, essentially responds to the needs of people. Owing to the complex nature of problems that humanity faces – such as global warming, poverty, racial discrimination, to name a few – it is not surprising that socially responsible design has reached a critical moment and underpins contemporary design  ractice. Accordingly, it follows that design education has a responsibility to train and nurture students with a socially-minded and empathetic mindset so that they can be mindful of making ethical design decisions. Essentially, the role of a designer’s response to a complex social, environmental or political problem is to move people to action, beyond mere awareness.