How the shift to hybrid making, learning and facilitation has impacted design education
Parsons Assistant Professor Kelly Walters on what this means for the the possibilities for future design
Kelly Walters is an Assistant Professor of Communication Design and the Associate Director of the BFA Communication Design at Parsons School of Design. She is founder of Bright Polka Dot, an interdisciplinary design practice, which focuses on print, digital, exhibition and textile design. Her research investigates how socio-political frameworks and shifting technology influence the sounds, symbols and styles of black cultural vernacular in mainstream media. Here, she unpacks some of the rapid changes she has witnessed influencing the world of design education, and what this could mean for the industry in the future.
Every year the design industry continues to expand the digital platforms we use, which in turn shapes the cultural landscape in which we live. This was never more present than in the last few years of the pandemic. Design education and industry professionals have grown closer together as a result of platforms like Zoom and the creation of pop-up online conferences. From expanded discussions about race and inclusivity, in conferences like Where Are All the Black Designers to design educator-oriented conferences like AIGA Design Educators’ SHIFT, fostering community in the digital sphere has exponentially increased. Our shift to hybrid making, learning and facilitation has completely altered how we teach design and the experience of the on-site workplace environment. The social, cultural and political changes we have experienced in real time are being grappled with in design classrooms, and are impacting the social consciousness of emerging designers. It is in this space that it is exciting to think about the future of design.
“As a team we needed to constantly adapt and rethink how to communicate with one another and with our contributors”
As I look closely at the collaborative design projects I have produced over the last few years, it is clear that the use of digital platforms like Slack, Zoom, Miro alongside more traditional modes of communication like text message, phone call, etc. have directly influenced my workflows. These platforms have enabled face-to-face contact, have helped to build rapport and establish trust with my collaborators despite being in isolation. My recent co-edited book The Black Experience in Design: Identity, Reflection and Expression, was a collaborative project that was initiated in the height of the pandemic (starting in Summer 2020) and was recently published this past February 2022. I co-edited The Black Experience in Design with design practitioners and educators Anne H. Berry, Kareem Collie, Peni Laker, Lesley-Ann Noel and Jennifer Rittner. As a team we needed to constantly adapt and rethink how to communicate with one another and with our contributors throughout the duration of the book development.
“Adapting helps keep us current and responsive to pressing concerns of the day”
With each editor located in various parts of the United States – California, Connecticut, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Missouri, we navigated multiple time zones and varying work schedules in order to find time to connect with one another. We often met on the weekends and outside of normal business hours to accommodate each other's complex schedules. In the end, over 70 design contributors are featured in our book which centres a range of perspectives, teaching practices, and conversations through a Black and African diasporic lens. The Black Experience in Design also highlights the range of design work being produced from Black creative practitioners working across different sub-disciplines in design practice. During the book development, we needed to be resilient and adjust to changing conditions – from emotional burnout of the pandemic, to political unrest and racism. This project would not have been possible without being flexible to constant change and working through these challenges.
One parting takeaway I can share for designers and educators alike, is to know that our role as design practitioners should be adaptive to new and unexpected circumstances. Adapting helps keep us current and responsive to pressing concerns of the day. It also helps us work towards the development of new projects that call for new forms of engagement and communication. These are critical skills for designers because it means that mediums do not have to dictate how we think, and that we should be ready and prepared for any challenge, whatever it may be.
Read our previous contributions to this series, including D&AD President Rebecca Wright’s thoughts on why learning is an important part of all professional creatives' practice, and Brian Collins, of COLLINS, on why there is no such thing as “time to give back” here.