How do you create a design school that is inclusive, collaborative and equitable? That is the question The Design School in ASU’s Herberger Institute is asking leaders across the country through ReDesign.School, a new platform focused on the future of design education. The initiative invites people from any background and any city in the world to engage with The Design School — and each other — by addressing pressing questions about the future of design education head on.
“Our goal is to be on the front lines of innovation in design education,” said Jason Schupbach, director of The Design School. “So, we are working with leading designers in the industry to delve into this important conversation and help us redesign our school together. Through this process, we want every voice heard, from students and alumni to top leaders in the industry. This process is about all of us, and moving forward as a community.”
Members of The Design School team traveled to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and New York City, to host roundtable conversations with designers and educators, and transcripts of those discussions are posted on the ReDesign.School website. Also, hundreds of leaders in various design disciplines and ASU students, alumni and faculty have contributed their thoughts through essay and video submissions on ReDesign.School.
“In order for design to stay relevant, it must incorporate a human-centered approach to empathy, allyship and systems-thinking,” said Liz Ogbu, founder and principal of Studio O.
“The future skillsets designers need to have include the ability to collaborate with multiple disciplines and the ability to embrace storytelling as a tool, in order to be self-sufficient,” said Altay Sendil, manager for Core Product UX Research at Pinterest.
Susan Szenasy, Metropolis Magazine’s director of design innovation, said design education must “pull the disciplines together, understanding our humanity and the Earth’s functions through a broader evolution of design and collaboration.”
Once the listening process is concluded, The Design School will take next steps toward bringing these ideas to life, with a radical redesign of the curriculum.
“Through this redesign process,” Schupbach said, “we aim to capture powerful ideas in the design community that, together, can create an environment for our students that is truly equitable and collaborative.”
