Design education is too important to be left to designers

Design can be a powerful force for change. The industrial design profession and its education system however have been slow to escape a decades old model that focuses on things more than people. Topics covered in design education today are far too much like those taught 50 or more years ago. The stagnancy is especially surprising because the profession bases its reputation and worth on its ability to innovate for the companies or organizations enlisting their services, with many designers claiming they take a human-centered approach to their work.

The wave of interest in recent years to spur creative thinking has relegated design to a scripted methodology that to an extent has suppressed creative thinking. It celebrates process rather than knowledge.

Given current practice it is unlikely that inclusivity, or design-based innovations in topics such as healthcare, human behavior or sustainability, will be fully realized. At its core a designer's education should include psychology, physiology, biomechanics, social responsibility and other human-centered topics. Curriculums should also include courses in research methods and statistics, critical components to understanding people in a data-driven world. Redefined curriculums can redefine the profession.

It's not clear that the profession or its education system will transform significantly anytime soon. Without placing knowledge about people at its core design will continue to be determined by professionals outside of the design profession. With a legacy that can be difficult to shift, the solution can be the creation of an entirely new discipline in design, one that's centered on people.