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It is essential for the contemporary design practitioner to meet the complex challenges that define modern knowledge-based economies. Within both the professional and educational context, being effective requires broad analytical skills and an adaptive attitude to learning. Developing such knowledge to include a deeper understanding of science, tec...
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... Geomerce [18] is a project where the natural sciences, laboratory work, financial market and technology crossed over through the synthesizing narrative of design. Geomerce started as a collaborative research project funded by Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie and conducted in partnership with International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology, Life Sciences department of the University of Parma, Plant Sciences Group from the University of Wageningen and C-CIT, a Swiss company specialized in the production of laboratory equipment. The research structure supporting the project has been designed through practice and brought about an 'inventive' research method [19], which was divided into four main functional areas (Figure 1) according to the research ...
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... These skills are highly demanded in professional work. In this way, project groups interact with others outside the university and the students get the opportunity to learn more about what they need in real life and gain awareness about their future professions (Gatto and McCardle, 2016;Özerol et al., 2018). ...
Educational transformation at universities driven by the radical changes in society, culture, politics, economy, technology and industry has changed the knowledge, skills and competences demanded from individuals in professional life. This has also led to the problem and project-based learning (PBL) to gain importance once again. PBL is a learning model that all curriculum components are oriented at problems. This study aims to analyze the evolution of PBL from a teaching method to educational philosophy and to propose a novel conceptual model for an institution-level PBL design. This paper is based on a narrative approach to analyze the literature, proposes new relationships among constructs and creates links between existing theories to give a novel and broader insight to the theories using a combination of theory synthesis, adaptation, typology, and model. We think that problem and project-based learning should be considered together to create a framework to design a curriculum in higher education to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Also, we believe that the PBL model we proposed in our study can shed light on the practice of the universities in performing their educational and societal roles.
... Such an extended project scoop demands multi-perspectivism, an approach that endorses the value of different points of view in the making of design decisions [15], [16]. Through design, future beliefs and meanings become approachable and exchangeable in the present [17]. Designers have the ability to shape and communicate alternative, technologically advanced futures by means of artefacts and narrative representations. ...
... The last ten years since has witnessed the emergence of design thinking, a systems approach that has pervaded numerous and diverse sectors, crossing disciplines and giving rise to innovations in experience design and service design. The emergence of speculative design as a contemporaneous method to provoke societal issues has pushed design beyond that of the tangible, and opened new avenues in political and ethical practices, embracing ecological and sustainability values and bringing together designers and publics [1]. Working across, between or even beyond established disciplines necessitates effective collaboration, and there are well acknowledged models in associating business and science. ...
... As a methodology futures studies exceed design thinking on the facet of accepting multiple plausible options (Visser, 2006). Futures studies' speculative aspect succeeds to probe diverse futures and their impact on society (Gatto and Mccardle, 2016). Considering that designers are asked to reflect and take responsibility in the creation of products and services for the future (Bezarra, 2005), their training is argued to benefit from methods of futures studies during the early design phase of 'Discovery' (Selin et al., 2004). ...
Design and creativity have been a considerable force for improving life conditions. A lot of effort has been invested in explaining the design process and creativity mainly through the design thinking methodology, but design accountability and responsible actions in the design process are, yet, to be fully explored. The concept of design ethics is now increasingly scrutinized on both the level of business organization and of the individual designer. A 4-day design workshop that involved creativity techniques provided the base to explore responsibility in the fuzzy front end of the design process. The future of education in 2030 was defined as the workshop's theme and fifty-six students from China were asked to create detailed alternative scenarios. A number of imagination exercises, implementation of technological innovations and macro-environment evolutions employed in the workshop are discussed. The aim was to incite moral and responsible actions among students less familiar with creative educational contexts of student-led discovery and collaborative learning. This paper reflects on the use of creativity methods to stimulate anticipation in (non)design students.
... Over the last decade many new practices of design were formed which included scenario-based design. Its speculative aspect, often combined with narrative representation strategies, has found ways of probing alternative futures and their impact on society [21]. Design pedagogy can benefit from methods of futures studies, as a tool for helping students as they engage in creative discovery. ...
... The creation of an artifact can build bridges of imaginations between abstract thoughts and concrete experience [22]. The designers' intentions concerning the interaction of the design and its surroundings, including its cultural and societal contexts, are all present in the artifact [21,40]. The artifact does not only represent a certain function, but it is a tool that transfers a meaning. ...
Design thinking can be seen as a fundamental premise to approach solving a problem in an innovative way [1]. It is especially valuable at situations in which challenges are complex and ambiguous. Design thinking includes two distinct approaches: diverging and converging. It requires both a flexible way of understanding, to come with various ideas, and know-how to make informed decisions. These opposing activities are poured into an explanatory model. However, a rigorous design thinking process might be considered as a limitation on creative thinking. Also, the promise of a straightforward all-in-one solution for complex problems seems rather unrealistic [1]. Futures studies exceed design thinking on the aspect of the acceptance of plausible options by freeing the apparent certainties [2]. This is primarily useful at the early phase of a design thinking practice when the problem should be explored. Whether a focus on the future context of a designed product could be recognized as added value, must still be inquired. This is a reflective paper on a two-day workshop developed for User Experience students in China that applied techniques from futures studies combined with design thinking and narrative techniques. In particular, the participants were design thinking newbies used to operate in an educational context with focus on traditional lecture-based pedagogy [3].
... Over the last decade many new practices of design were formed which included scenario-based design. Its speculative aspect, often combined with narrative representation strategies, has found ways of probing alternative futures and their impact on society [18]. Design pedagogy can benefit from methods of futures studies, as a tool for helping students as they engage in creative discovery. ...
... The creation of an artifact can build bridges of imaginations between abstract thoughts and concrete experience [10]. The designers' intentions concerning the interaction of the design and its surroundings, including its cultural and societal contexts, are all present in the artifact [17,18]. The artifact does not only represent a certain function, it is also a tool that transfers a meaning about the reason for this product. ...
We consider creativity as the ability to see situations in an original and unusual way. Design thinking techniques are suitable to introduce the differences between divergent and convergent thinking to newcomers at creativity. However, these beginners might feel that the model of design thinking restricts them in this liberating activity. Also, the idea that by passing through the four steps of the design thinking model a perfect solution will be found, is neither realistic nor removes their uncertainties. Moreover, whether an emphasis on the future context of a designed object, and the implementation of different storytelling methods at the front end of innovation could be recognized as added value, must still be inquired. A two-day workshop that applied techniques from design thinking and futures studies combined with narrative techniques is developed to foster creativity among User Experience students in China. In particular, the participants are design thinking "newbies" who are also not used to an educational context of studentled discovery and collaborative learning. This is a reflective paper, based on empirical experience that articulates a new attitude towards the use of methods to stimulate creativity in non-design students.
