A Necessary Shift in Design Education: From Outputs to Outcomes

Abstract Traditionally, design – and by extension design education – has focused on the creation of distinct outputs (forms, artefacts, and objects) that satisfy a specific purpose and need. Historically these needs – and often the designed outputs themselves – have been dictated not by the designer but by clients and also through established disciplinary practices. Design was broadly framed as a commercial industry, where a client needed something (a poster, a chair) and the designer provided the requested output. Design education practices grew out of a master‐apprentice approach, where students often learned by recreating idealized outputs repetitively. This didactic and skills‐acquisition approach was sufficient when design focused on distinct fields (e.g., graphic, industrial, or fashion design), specific outputs, and traditionally understood challenges. As the field of design has expanded – in the scope of practice, the complexity of challenges tackled, and the range of collaborators – there is a need to re‐examine our pedagogy. Traditional design education approaches are insufficient for the role that design needs to play in the 21st century. In this paper, I argue that a critical consideration of this re‐examination is the reframing of a central tenet of design education, which is the production of outputs. Instead, what is needed is a re‐focus considering the outcomes of design practice – the processes involved, and the effects of our design actions and artefacts. I identify seven principal and interconnected factors that drive the need for this shift in focus.