3. “Design plays a critical role in the
global paradigm shift from an
industrial economy to an
experience and knowledge based
economy”
designsingapore.org
37. Mental/Cultural Switch
• You are not told what to do or how to do it
• No textbooks with answers
• No recipes (but there is a structure)
• Integrate and apply what you learn
• High uncertainty, high ambiguity
• High diversity of skills, tools, concepts
• Manage your design/learning process
• No right/wrong answers
• Teachers expect more from you
• Design-driven, not grade-driven
• Fail early, fail fast, fail often (and learn)
38. Mental/Cultural Switch
• “How many drawings/concepts/prototypes?”
• “Is my proposed solution ok?”
• “Checklist: I did x, y, and z”
• “Subject x is not related to design”
• “You must tell me what to do!”
• “You are asking for too much, I need to sleep”
• “What do I do next?”
• “We did what you asked for”
• “I only want good grades, forget the learning”
• “Students must never fail”
• “My design has x, y and z features”
Editor's Notes
Great (Big D) design is hard to define, easy to identify
Singapore has made design a priority
Designing is not easy. Teaching design is not easy. Requires HOTS
Technology can be fun (weird, useless)
Many (most?) hi-tech products fail
Because technology is the focus, not humans
Big D design balances technology and people
Great products push the limits both in tech+humans
And it doesn’t need to be “shiny”
But again, it’s not easy: demands disrupting traditional boundaries
