School of Design - University of Leeds’ Post

Bridging the Gap: Unleashing Creativity in Industrial Design Students In the world of design education, fostering creativity during the crucial concept generation phase is paramount. A recent study by Tijana Vuletic; Alexander "Freddie" Holliman; and Avril Thomson from the University of Strathclyde explore the concept of divergence in conceptual design, specifically focusing on the differences between traditional design students and industry-based learners (ICED23 Proceedings). https://lnkd.in/guJY8faB Join the "Design is a Team Sport" movement at ICED25 Dallas. How can design education be tailored to cater to the needs of both traditional and industry-based students? Share your experiences with fostering creativity in design education. What are your thoughts on the importance of divergence in the design process? Don't miss out!   · Register for ICED25 Dallas: iced.designsociety.org/  The University of Texas at Dallas, The Design Society #ConceptualDesign #DesignEducation #IndustrialDesign #Divergence #Creativity #Innovation #IndustryBasedLearning

Who Built This Classroom? It Wasn't Who You Think! Great leaders know the importance of inclusion, but did you know the inspiration for creating classrooms that work for ALL learners came from... architecture? ️ The visionary architect Ronald L. Mace championed "Universal Design," where buildings cater to everyone, regardless of ability. Think ramps, wide doors, clear signage. This brilliant concept became the foundation of Universal Design for Learning "UDL" in education! UDL creates flexible learning environments that benefit all students, no matter their learning style or needs. What unexpected connections between other fields and education have you discovered? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below! #UDL #Education #InclusiveLearning #Accessibility

The 7 principles of #UniversalDesign: 1) Equitable use: identical operation for everyone not just "separate but equal", and make the design appealing 2) Flexibility in use: empower choice in usage, improve accuracy of usage 3) Simple and intuitive use: consistency and simplicity including language skills and literacy, also effective prompting and feedback 4) Perceptible information: redundant info presentation and feedback, maximize "legibility", compatibility with reading methods 5) Tolerance for error: minimize hazards and errors, provide warnings and fail-safes 6) Low physical effort: minimize repetitive or sustained physical effort, and let people remain in a neutral body position 7) Size and space for approach and use: accommodate hand, grip, and easy line of sight for all people, including room for assistive devices and personal assistance These design principles guided the building of the Ed Roberts campus at UC Berkeley. In this video, we get a tour of the Center for Independent Living: https://lnkd.in/g82bWqs3 #Accessibility #Principles #Architecture #IndustrialDesign #ProductDesign #POUR

Bridging the Gap: Integrating Social Responsibility in Design Education The field of design plays a critical role in shaping our world. Yet, designers must consider not just functionality but also the social, ethical, and policy implications of their creations.  Madhurima Das (1); Jana Saadi I. (1); Marina Santos (2); Gillian Roeder (1); Anastasia Kouvaras Ostrowski, Ph.D. K. (1); Stella Lee (3); Cynthia Breazeal (1); Catherine D'Ignazio (1); Maria Yang (1); and Verma, Aditi (4) from 1: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 2: Wellesley College; 3: Johns Hopkins University; 4: The University of Michigan examine how effectively design education incorporates these crucial aspects (ICED 23 Proceedings). https://lnkd.in/gdbbQsv4 Join the "Design is a Team Sport" movement at ICED25 Dallas. How can design education be improved to better integrate social responsibility considerations? What are the biggest challenges in teaching students to think about the social impact of design? Share your thoughts on the importance of ethics and social justice in the field of design. Don't miss out!   · Register for ICED25 Dallas: iced.designsociety.org/ The University of Texas at Dallas, The Design Society #DesignEducation #SocialResponsibility #Ethics #Equity #Justice #DesignThinking #Sustainability

As we head into 2025, it’s clear that campus design plays a crucial role in achieving institutional goals amidst economic and cultural shifts. In our latest dialogue Blog “The Campus as a Catalyst: Combining Student Needs With Institutional Goals” co-authored with my colleague Adam Griff, we outline key strategies for differentiating a university campus, improving student retention by enhancing their sense of belonging, and reimagining underutilized spaces to optimize real estate. Our insights, drawn from a panel of higher education leaders, highlight how intentional campus design can drive successful outcomes. Gensler #gensler #campusascatalyst #highereducation https://lnkd.in/eNPswfAT

Seems all I post is about these last several years' journey, but what a journey it has been! The article linked below details, far better than I have ever been able, the process to successful completion of this amazing project.

https://lnkd.in/dBr_pGV2 It's so important to know how to design places that builds the future of a nation ... The article contains bits on how we can have campuses to be a turning point for the student's ideas and creativity. With innovative campus designs we are promoting teamwork and a inclusive design that fosters and embraces teamwork, student interaction and creativity. Check more about such campuses in the article... #campusdesign #innovativedesign #writtingaboutarchitecture 

Creating Comfortable Spaces: Empowering Students to Leave Their Mark 🏫✨ As architects, our mission extends beyond designing buildings; it's about crafting environments where students can thrive and truly make their mark. One of our guiding principles is ensuring that the spaces we create are not just aesthetically pleasing, but also evoke a sense of comfort and belonging for every child who enters. Research has shown that a comfortable learning environment can significantly impact student engagement and academic achievement (Johnson & Johnson, 2014). When students feel at ease in their surroundings, they are more likely to feel confident, motivated, and ready to learn. In a world that's constantly evolving, we believe it's essential for children to see themselves as the brilliant, capable individuals they are. Our aim is to provide them with spaces where they can explore, create, and grow, knowing that they are valued and supported every step of the way. One example of this is our larger than life 'Scrabble wall,' where children can freely express themselves and leave their mark for others to see. Can you spot their names they built? It's a special 'I was here' moment that celebrates each child's unique contribution to the learning environment. By prioritizing comfort and personalisation in our designs, we empower students to take ownership of their learning journey and embrace their potential to conquer the world. 🌟 #ComfortableSpaces #EmpoweringStudents #ArchitectureForEducation #StudentEngagement" Reference: Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2014). Cooperative learning and social interdependence theory. In International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (2nd ed., Vol. 5, pp. 59-64). Elsevier.

This news filled my feed the past few days, and I just wanted to offer another perspective on the current state of the Royal College of Art. These rankings are based on reputation which is a lagging indicator of performance. And I think it lags by decades. The RCA's reputation is based on the lifetime work of designers & artists like David Hockney, James Dyson, Thomas Heatherwick, Tracy Emin, Ridley Scott, Barbara Hepworth, etc. I would suggest that this #1 ranking doesn't reflect the current damage done to the RCA studio model. It will take more time for this to be widely understood by other academics and employers, but I'm already hearing from people "I'm worried about my students going there for an MA, is it worth the money?" and "I used to be able to hire anyone from the RCA and they were brilliant, now I have to really do my homework and sift through a lot of work to find the good stuff." The RCA of the past that created this reputation no longer exists because of changes to the funding model, scaling of the student population, changes in teaching and evaluation, etc, etc. Some highlights of the past RCA: 5 staff for maybe 25 students on a course, and multiple weekly 1:1 tutorials with tutors, individual projects. On a two year MA you regularly spent time learning from the 2nd year students, or later sharing what you learned with 1st years... in this way there was a chain of culture and ideas and learning that could be traced all the way back over decades. You heard stories of other students who had been in the studio years before you, these stories were passed down like folklore. The acceptance rate into RCA courses was probably less than 10%, students failed out of the RCA if their work wasn't of a quality. There was no real curriculum, it was all practice based studio work, learning by doing under the close guidance of the master and tutors. Be given a brief, explore, design, get rigorous intense critique, repeat, all while living in this wider bubbling creative culture. Developing your own personal practice in a radical way. So what has changed? In the past 10 years, almost everything. The RCA today: 4 staff for 160+ students on a course. Most of the staff has turned over. Tutorials are run in large groups on group projects. The acceptance rate is probably over 80%, anyone can go to the RCA if they can pay. No one fails, because the RCA needs your student fees. MA's are now only 1 year long, so no overlapping of student years, all culture and generational knowledge is lost. RCA sends professors across the world to pitch and recruit students to pay the high fees to keep the company going. The social media machine has to hype the school to prospective students to keep the courses full. And the quality of the student work has suffered. I hope Christoph Lindner will see the painful realities of the current state, and make the radical changes needed before the current damage further impacts students, staff, and reputation.

The latest graduate outcomes survey reported the largest increase in employment rates *in the field of humanities* (up from 81.7% in 2021 to 86.6% in 2022). Median graduate salaries also jumped, sitting at $66,700 compared with sciences and mathematics at $66,000 and business and management $65,000.