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In this issue:
We started preparations for this issue by asking the contributing authors to provide articles aligned with the concept of a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, threats) analysis. Why SWOT? This type of proven framework can help us challenge assumptions, uncover blind spots, celebrate our successes, and strategize for the future. A SWOT analysis is a versatile tool that can be applied to various contexts, including planning, management, and development. It helps organizations make informed decisions and adapt to the ever-changing mixture of forces surrounding them.
In an online call for responses on the same topic, we heard from Robert Creighton, IDSA, principal of Red Cape Studio, who shared that our opportunity lies in “helping students to define their vision of success in life. Life is about more than work; it is about choice. Helping students define those choices is very important in creating designers who are holistic people and better prepared. I believe that optimism is our most important trait to pass on to the next generation of designers. We must believe that we can solve the problems that stand before us.”
Reflecting on this response, and in reviewing the collected articles as a composition of work, we realized that a single theme bound them together: optimism. Perhaps it is the optimistic nature of humanity that often draws us into a reflective and forward-thinking state where we set our sights on the unknown with a hopeful lens. Ongoing work by Tali Sharto, PhD, a professor of psychology and language Sciences at the University College London, on the power of optimism bias suggests that optimism might be deeply rooted in the brain and people have a natural tendency to maintain a positive outlook on future events, even in the face of potential risks. While this optimism bias can sometimes lead to unrealistic expectations, it also plays a crucial role in maintaining mental well-being and resilience in the face of life’s challenges.
Sheng-Hung Lee, PhD, IDSA, a researcher at MIT and current IDSA Board Member, shares, “To improve the current and future state of industrial design education, we need to collectively frame the challenges by layers within the suitable scopes, resources, time, people, and possible outcomes.” He continues, “We used to consider industrial designers or product designers as problem-solvers. This is partly true. But we need to put design at the strategic level within organizations to ensure designers can amplify and leverage the creative process—including ideation, problem-solving, and prototyping—into each workflow, decision-making process, and even the organization’s culture.”
Yes, the opportunities in front of us are boundless, and there are also very real roadblocks awaiting around every corner that need to be taken into consideration. Yet the optimist in all of us believes we can always achieve more. To do so, we must make informed decisions and implement strategies that balance optimism with realistic assessments of potential risks, current conditions, and past experiences. The optimistic academic is pragmatic in their thinking, compassionate in their actions, and grounded by their purpose.
Our goal for this issue of INNOVATION is to provide a useful reference for the academic community to evaluate itself, reveal insights, and develop new approaches for creating inspiring learning environments and enabling educators to perform at their best.
Guest contributors:
- Shapeshifting in Hyphen Space by Emily Norton, IDSA
- Industry, ID Programs, and Research: A Win-Win For All by Brook S. Kennedy, IDSA, and Anna Marion Bieri
- Preparing Students to Navigate Complex and Ethically Demanding Situations by Isabel Prochner
- The Live Well Collaborative: An Innovation Hub to Enhance Design Education by Craig M. Vogel, FIDSA, Isil Oygur Ilhan, and Linda Dunseath
- Made@Stout by Jennifer Astwood, IDSA
- Navigating Life as a Design Student by Rebecca Scarbrough, S/IDSA
Featured content:
- 2023 Design Foundation Scholarship Recipients
- 2023 IDSA Education Symposium Recap
- Design Census 2.0: The Heterogeneity of Industrial Design Higher Education by Carly Hagins, IDSA, Benjamin Bush, IDSA, and Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness, IDSA
- Education Paper – Effects of Persona Priming on Creativity by Tejas Dhadphale, IDSA
- Education Paper – I’m an Industrial Designer. Who Am I?: Friction in the Evolving Terminology of Design Careers by Rusty Lay, IDSA
- Education Paper – Form Follows Fun: Integrating Play and Games in Design Classrooms to Foster Inclusive Experimentation & Collaboration by Dana Ragouzeos and Kohar Scott
- Education Paper – Co-Designing with the Disability Community: Case Study on a Graduate Industrial Design Studio by Kathryn Wozniak, IDSA
- 2023 SMA & GSMA Winners
- 2023 SMA & GSMA Finalists
- 2023 Academic Jury
In every issue:
- Beautility by Tucker Viemeister, FIDSA
- Women on Design by Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman, IDSA
- ID Essay by Steven R. Umbach, FIDSA