Design skills learned by non-designers to improve their lives

Abstract

In this article, the design competences transferable to Non-Designers (N-D) are deepened. to this end, the acquisition process of these tools and their impacts on N-D are analyzed. The article starts with the description of our vision on design. This contextualization is important for the identification of the main competences that designers must have. The study on which skills to select was based on authors who in common have a practical perspective of design or observation of its praxis. The literature review allowed reaching a set of fourteen skills, as well as their hierarchy: Empathy, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Communication, Problem Solving, Openness, Experimentalism, Humility, Leadership, Innovation, Facilitator, Flexibility, Divergency vs. Convercy and Optimism. The fundamental idea of this paper is to ask N-Ds, with experience working in co-design teams, about their evolution in the face of these skills, before and after being exposed to the practice of design. In order not to give rise to different interpretations on the meaning of each of the knowledge/competencies, a description was prepared followed by one of the relevance these competences/competencies have for the discipline of design. The results of the surveys and interviews allow us to perceive that the N-D, when exposed to design experiences, are effectively able to assimilate competence in a very significant way, and, allowed us to perceive the importance of soft skills in co-design teams, namely in what concerns refers to its integration. In conclusion, we highlight the potential that these design tools may have for N-D.