Design Education in a Post-Pandemic World
The intricately complex, diverse and multi-layered world we inhabit today is not the same as it was just a few years ago. With technological advancements, socio-cultural and political developments and most significantly, the traces left behind by the pandemic, our lived reality today is starkly different from what it previously was. The new era brings with it a slew of further advantages and possibilities. However, along with these opportunities that lace the future that awaits us, there are also a unique set of challenges. It is at this juncture that design education has become more crucial and promising than ever before. In this post-pandemic world, we must strive toward a generation of designers who are adept at technology and use it to facilitate change and advancement for a better and brighter future.
The education landscape, within the field of design and beyond it, witnessed a radical paradigm shift as we transitioned into a new phase of virtual learning. Right from online classes, digital portfolios, virtual assessments, and a host of software and tools that support and promote e-learning, we have had to rethink the contours and nuances of the educational industry. Digital learning systems like Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard Learn and Schoology, among various others, have aided the learning process. This has undoubtedly resulted in greater digital output as students and designers across geographical borders and time zones can leverage these tools to meet and interact as well as enhance their work, portfolios, and, eventually, their ideas. They are not limited by the confines of physical classrooms or textbook pages. Instead, these tools encourage them to explore, experiment and think outside the box.
In addition to the increasing reliance on digital content and virtual dissemination of this content, digital marketing is also on the rise. Its advantages are manifold. Social media and several other online platforms have become vital spaces to promote, advocate for and raise awareness about various issues, topics and themes. They not only offer an exchange of information between multiple people, but they also work as sites where budding designers can take inspiration from, get feedback and discuss varying concepts with like-minded people. Digital marketing has taken over from ATL and BTL forms of advertising, providing a more personalised, curated and socially relevant experience for the designer, the user and the audience alike. The world we live in today is one where technology has come to dominate our everyday lives. However, instead of letting it take over, it’s best if we learn how to optimally use it to achieve our ends.
These rapid technological advancements have paved the way for an entire digital world that has remained largely unexplored and uncharted - the metaverse. The development of this virtual environment has ushered in a new age, one which has generated endless possibilities, especially for the future of design. The metaverse broadly refers to augmented reality, an intricate and layered structure of interconnected digital spaces. This makes for the perfect environment for design education because it requires an assimilative and interactive experience, one where different facets of design come together. From the need to communicate across this digital arena to the new understanding of the built environment to the evolving concept of fashion in virtual reality and its business and marketing, the metaverse bodes well for the future. There is still a great deal to be explored and understood; however, the possibilities seem endless, and the coming times offer a glimmer of hope for what the new virtual world may bring.
As we increasingly reap the benefits of these digital tools and learning systems, it is vital to remember that hybrid education has become the new way forward. As the world around us gradually and fortunately returns to normalcy, we now have the advantage of bringing together the best of both worlds. Design is essentially and ultimately a hands-on and practical field of study. It requires students to understand the intricacies of how the world around them operates by actively being involved in it. From the conceptualisation of a particular design to its final stages, a designer constantly interacts with their product and design through virtual mediums and through physical, lived reality to ensure that it encapsulates all the prerequisites to enhance our surroundings. Blended learning, therefore, is the ideal way forward for design as it amalgamates the foundation and core of design - the tactile and physical - as well as the digital, which ushers in a new age.
Amid all the glorious developments and advancements we are surrounded by, an important question we need to ask ourselves is - does design education prepare today's youth to work with the complex sociotechnical systems that characterise the modern world? Design is no longer just a degree but an entire landscape of knowledge and attributes that offer a vast array of experiences which encompass the physical, emotional and ideological. Design education highlights the importance of experiential and blended learning and, in the process, disrupts the isolated compartments in education that we have grown so accustomed to. Not only the structure and format in which we impart education but also the skill set and ideas we are providing to today's youth have become vital because designers of the 21st century are starting to address some of the significant societal, economic and technical issues facing the planet. Ethical, sustainable, technologically-driven and economically viable designs are the need of the hour.
A multi-disciplinary, practical and iterative education will enable the upcoming generation of designers to re-invent, re-think and re-work experiences that are well adapted for the digital age without letting go of essential attributes of the physical world. The opportunities within the field of design and beyond are numerous, and we should endeavour to make the most of them - one concept, one idea and one design at a time. The first step is the right kind of education - one that is practical, hands-on and multidisciplinary. A new design education system and structure for the youth of this new age will pave the way for a new future.