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Designers of the Future: Continuing the Journey
BY
Ric Grefe
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By Richard Grefé
Earlier this year we embarked on a journey to define the Designers of 2015. Here we continue on that journey to determine the landscape and personas of the not-sodistant future. This series of articles is also an invitation for you, the designers of today, to speak up about the trends that will influence the design profession tomorrow. This conversation is one that's exploratory and still in progress-alive and eager for other viewpoints.
What do we mean by the Designer of 2015?
AIGA, the professional association for design, and Adobe, Inc. have partnered in a systematic quest to understand what today's clues reveal about the expectations for designers in the year 2015. The clues' indicators are evident among educators, students, design studio principals and business leaders-since the very people who know the challenges designers are asked to solve each day have changed dramatically over the past twenty years. Yet many educational institutions and studios continue to think in terms of what more is expected of the "traditional" designer. AIGA and Adobe believe we have to change the marker from an idealized traditional perception that is out-of-date, to a new model of designers likely to populate most design enterprises in less than a decade.
To accomplish this, we have conducted surveys, assembled focus groups of leading design thinkers and educators and conducted extensive interviews. The outcome will serve at least three purposes: for educators, it will help to refine the demands of the educational curriculum in preparing future professionals; for designers and corporations, it will help to understand the range of skill sets and organizational models for which they should be preparing today as they recruit new designers; and for developers creating the tools for future designers, it will help to focus product development efforts that improve the way designers work.
The forecasted 2015 is a mere eight years away, which means that the designers who will be entering the workforce that year will be entering a four-year university program in 2011-just four years from now. Therefore, our conclusions must be more than hypothetical musings; they must set very real benchmarks for a very real future within our reach, if not our grasp. We cannot defer the preparation of designers for a future that is already well within sight. Yet we also understand that even a clear vision of where we want to go does not imply an easy or direct route.
Who is in the driver's seat?
AIGA and Adobe have assembled a team, or Visionary Design Council, if you will, to develop a cohesive sense of the likely characteristics of future designers. Through a series of summits and round-table discussions, this insightful, extremely knowledgeable team has met at various points and in various formations, yet each member adds his or her invaluable point of view. The esteemed 2015 council consists of:
Jake Barton
Local Projects, LLC
Rick Boyko
Virginia Commonwealth University Adcenter
Brian Collins
Ogilvy & Mather
Meredith Davis
North Carolina State University
William Drenttel
Winterhouse Institute
Hugh Dubberly
Dubberly Design Office
Carla Frank
O Magazine
Stanley Hainsworth
Starbucks
Sylvia Harris
Sylvia Harris, LLC
Brad Johnson
Second Story
Marcia Lausen
Studio/lab and University of Illinois at Chicago
Michael Lebowitz
Big Spaceship
John Maeda
MIT Media Lab
Ken Martin
BLITZ
Clement Mok
The Office of Clement Mok
Susana Rodriguez
Stone Yamashita Partners
Jacob Rosenberg
Formika Films/Bandito Brothers
Lisa Strausfeld
Pentagram
Lita Talarico
School of Visual Arts
Lucille Tenazas
Tenazas Design
Basic trends
We recognize that the design environment will be clearly influenced by:
A growing information economy
Emerging digital social issues
The rise of user-created content
The increasing importance of systems-defined broadly and conceptually, from the inter-relationships of practice areas to the outcomes of design projects
The emergence of service design
The need to design for change
The relationship between organizational change and design practices
Increasing the emphasis on design as a discipline
The corporatization of design practice
The diminishing importance of print and growing need for innovative methods of creating experiences
Professional outlook
There are also challenges that designers past expectations, including:
Increasing levels of uncertainty in the nature of design problems
Thinking in terms of systems and managing complexity
Working to meet demands for user-centered processes that also account for context
Practicing as members of collaborative, interdisciplinary teams composed, in part, of non-designers
Influencing decision-making at the highest levels of business and cultural institutions
Thinking in terms of information and product lifespan, not just short-term outcomes
Developing appropriate technologies for design (and not just functioning as software users)
Increasing cultural connectedness and diversity in the audiences/users for design
How does a visual community see the future?
A number of models have emerged from animated discussions between passengers and drivers on this journey. We present them as they have been drawn, simply to reinforce that we are not finished with this exploration. To see where we are en route to our destination please refer to the following illustrations.
model one: THE INDIVIDUAL
In order to focus on the nature of design, with all its attributes, we have a model for classifying a design solution.
and a model of the broad categories of curricula needed to train a designer to work in this broader realm of delivering design solutions.
These models were our first attempts to capture a recurring theme: the designer of the future must be conversant in a variety of disciplines, since the problems designers are being asked to solve span numerous categories of knowledge and experience. If these models capture what many of our interviews reveal, they reinforce both an expectation and a necessity of the designer of the future as one who can synthesize and use creativity to extend beyond traditional boundaries of expertise.
model two: THE TEAM OR ORGANIZATION
The design team concept is based on an adaptation of IDEO's pursuit of team members who are "T" shaped: those with a broad, horizontal understanding of problem-solving skills, context and design at the top, paired with a deeper competency in a singular design discipline or method of problem-solving (the vertical ascender).
The team must consist of these individuals working in collaboration-based on a shared knowledge of the broader problem-solving skills, while each contributes their more specialized competencies.
model three: THE ROLE OF DESIGN AS A DISCIPLINE
While the previous two models proposed expectations for designers and for organizations, there is also a model for what shall be expected in terms of designing-the role of design in addressing problems from simple to complex, and from the creation of artifacts to the creation of experiences.
In this diagram of design thinking's potential, one can see how design is changing dramatically from the act of creating things to contributing alternative strategies that will enhance the human experience.
A corollary to this representation is another model that suggests that the nature of our audience influences the character of design's contribution.
Where is this driver going?
In the course of working with designers and thinkers, a number of top-of-mind observations have been revealed:
Project teams will need to be both adaptable and adaptive-designers will need to understand nested actions and consequences in areas like sustainability, openness and cultural differences
Organizations will likely be flat and flexible, with less hierarchy and be more of an adaptive "adhocracy" than a bureaucracy
The world will be nodal, not geopolitical, and the global economy will require respect for cultural differences rather than pursuit of assimilation
Organizations and projects will require transparency in what they are doing in order to be adaptive enough to external changes and to gain the advantage of co-creation benefits
Designers, in their approach to multi-faceted problems with collaborative teams, may become more like impresarios than craftspeople
Designers will need to be adaptable to different teams' needs; they may be hyper-specialized within their field, while being broad in their perspective on how to apply design thinking as a process
Projects will increasingly involve designing services or systems, collaborating with teams that are built across disciplines and geographies
The future is bright and very young
Those practicing design today may adapt to the requirements of the 2015 environment. Yet this process will also describe the profession to which we invite the next generation to take part. We must find ways to encourage the best and the brightest youths to consider design as a profession, even at the earliest age. The future we are beginning to craft is one likely to require young professionals to begin to develop their design experience and skills well before higher education.
Where do we stop next?
In the fall, we plan to lay out a series of models that are refined from those presented here and which encompass a variety of roles for designers-from the passion-driven craftsperson to the broad strategist. We will then solicit even more input and ideas from additional sources. Finally, we will begin to meet with educators to think of how these models will influence change in educational curricula and what the implications are for organizing and staffing studios of the future.
When is it your turn to drive?
The Designer of 2015 project will be presented at "Next: AIGA Design Conference" in Denver, October 14-16, 2007 (designconference.aiga.org), at which time we will open it for public review and comment. In early 2008, we will be able to refine our findings based on the thinking of educators and designers around the world. Stay tuned for more columns written specifically for the Taxi Design Network.
In the meantime, if you have comments on this discussion, please send an email to kelly_mclaughlin@aiga.org and we will consider them as we proceed. Please also share any of your written work on the evolving disciplines of design.
For any feedbacks and/or questions on this initiative, kindly email the Editor, Bianca Zen at editorial@hillscreativearts.com.
Richard Grefé
Executive Director, AIGA
Icograda Vice President 2005-2007
From 2007, AIGA will be contributing a quarterly article on the future of design. Along with the Designer of 2015 initiative, AIGA is pursuing a revised definition of a graphic designer with the US federal government. TAXI Design Network supports this endeavor. The government has not yet acted to accept the revisions.
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© 2003 - 2007 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.
Earlier this year we embarked on a journey to define the Designers of 2015. Here we continue on that journey to determine the landscape and personas of the not-sodistant future. This series of articles is also an invitation for you, the designers of today, to speak up about the trends that will influence the design profession tomorrow. This conversation is one that's exploratory and still in progress-alive and eager for other viewpoints.
What do we mean by the Designer of 2015?
AIGA, the professional association for design, and Adobe, Inc. have partnered in a systematic quest to understand what today's clues reveal about the expectations for designers in the year 2015. The clues' indicators are evident among educators, students, design studio principals and business leaders-since the very people who know the challenges designers are asked to solve each day have changed dramatically over the past twenty years. Yet many educational institutions and studios continue to think in terms of what more is expected of the "traditional" designer. AIGA and Adobe believe we have to change the marker from an idealized traditional perception that is out-of-date, to a new model of designers likely to populate most design enterprises in less than a decade.
To accomplish this, we have conducted surveys, assembled focus groups of leading design thinkers and educators and conducted extensive interviews. The outcome will serve at least three purposes: for educators, it will help to refine the demands of the educational curriculum in preparing future professionals; for designers and corporations, it will help to understand the range of skill sets and organizational models for which they should be preparing today as they recruit new designers; and for developers creating the tools for future designers, it will help to focus product development efforts that improve the way designers work.
The forecasted 2015 is a mere eight years away, which means that the designers who will be entering the workforce that year will be entering a four-year university program in 2011-just four years from now. Therefore, our conclusions must be more than hypothetical musings; they must set very real benchmarks for a very real future within our reach, if not our grasp. We cannot defer the preparation of designers for a future that is already well within sight. Yet we also understand that even a clear vision of where we want to go does not imply an easy or direct route.
Who is in the driver's seat?
AIGA and Adobe have assembled a team, or Visionary Design Council, if you will, to develop a cohesive sense of the likely characteristics of future designers. Through a series of summits and round-table discussions, this insightful, extremely knowledgeable team has met at various points and in various formations, yet each member adds his or her invaluable point of view. The esteemed 2015 council consists of:
Jake Barton
Local Projects, LLC
Rick Boyko
Virginia Commonwealth University Adcenter
Brian Collins
Ogilvy & Mather
Meredith Davis
North Carolina State University
William Drenttel
Winterhouse Institute
Hugh Dubberly
Dubberly Design Office
Carla Frank
O Magazine
Stanley Hainsworth
Starbucks
Sylvia Harris
Sylvia Harris, LLC
Brad Johnson
Second Story
Marcia Lausen
Studio/lab and University of Illinois at Chicago
Michael Lebowitz
Big Spaceship
John Maeda
MIT Media Lab
Ken Martin
BLITZ
Clement Mok
The Office of Clement Mok
Susana Rodriguez
Stone Yamashita Partners
Jacob Rosenberg
Formika Films/Bandito Brothers
Lisa Strausfeld
Pentagram
Lita Talarico
School of Visual Arts
Lucille Tenazas
Tenazas Design
Basic trends
We recognize that the design environment will be clearly influenced by:
Professional outlook
There are also challenges that designers past expectations, including:
How does a visual community see the future?
A number of models have emerged from animated discussions between passengers and drivers on this journey. We present them as they have been drawn, simply to reinforce that we are not finished with this exploration. To see where we are en route to our destination please refer to the following illustrations.
model one: THE INDIVIDUAL
In order to focus on the nature of design, with all its attributes, we have a model for classifying a design solution.
and a model of the broad categories of curricula needed to train a designer to work in this broader realm of delivering design solutions.
These models were our first attempts to capture a recurring theme: the designer of the future must be conversant in a variety of disciplines, since the problems designers are being asked to solve span numerous categories of knowledge and experience. If these models capture what many of our interviews reveal, they reinforce both an expectation and a necessity of the designer of the future as one who can synthesize and use creativity to extend beyond traditional boundaries of expertise.
model two: THE TEAM OR ORGANIZATION
The design team concept is based on an adaptation of IDEO's pursuit of team members who are "T" shaped: those with a broad, horizontal understanding of problem-solving skills, context and design at the top, paired with a deeper competency in a singular design discipline or method of problem-solving (the vertical ascender).
The team must consist of these individuals working in collaboration-based on a shared knowledge of the broader problem-solving skills, while each contributes their more specialized competencies.
model three: THE ROLE OF DESIGN AS A DISCIPLINE
While the previous two models proposed expectations for designers and for organizations, there is also a model for what shall be expected in terms of designing-the role of design in addressing problems from simple to complex, and from the creation of artifacts to the creation of experiences.
In this diagram of design thinking's potential, one can see how design is changing dramatically from the act of creating things to contributing alternative strategies that will enhance the human experience.
A corollary to this representation is another model that suggests that the nature of our audience influences the character of design's contribution.
Where is this driver going?
In the course of working with designers and thinkers, a number of top-of-mind observations have been revealed:
The future is bright and very young
Those practicing design today may adapt to the requirements of the 2015 environment. Yet this process will also describe the profession to which we invite the next generation to take part. We must find ways to encourage the best and the brightest youths to consider design as a profession, even at the earliest age. The future we are beginning to craft is one likely to require young professionals to begin to develop their design experience and skills well before higher education.
Where do we stop next?
In the fall, we plan to lay out a series of models that are refined from those presented here and which encompass a variety of roles for designers-from the passion-driven craftsperson to the broad strategist. We will then solicit even more input and ideas from additional sources. Finally, we will begin to meet with educators to think of how these models will influence change in educational curricula and what the implications are for organizing and staffing studios of the future.
When is it your turn to drive?
The Designer of 2015 project will be presented at "Next: AIGA Design Conference" in Denver, October 14-16, 2007 (designconference.aiga.org), at which time we will open it for public review and comment. In early 2008, we will be able to refine our findings based on the thinking of educators and designers around the world. Stay tuned for more columns written specifically for the Taxi Design Network.
In the meantime, if you have comments on this discussion, please send an email to kelly_mclaughlin@aiga.org and we will consider them as we proceed. Please also share any of your written work on the evolving disciplines of design.
For any feedbacks and/or questions on this initiative, kindly email the Editor, Bianca Zen at editorial@hillscreativearts.com.
Richard Grefé
Executive Director, AIGA
Icograda Vice President 2005-2007
From 2007, AIGA will be contributing a quarterly article on the future of design. Along with the Designer of 2015 initiative, AIGA is pursuing a revised definition of a graphic designer with the US federal government. TAXI Design Network supports this endeavor. The government has not yet acted to accept the revisions.
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| Richard Grefé's experience is in the development of institutions that serve social purposes. His passion is design. He holds degrees from Dartmouth College in Economics, (where he also studied book design) and Stanford, where he received an MBA. While he began his career setting type by hand, he has since been a political analyst in Asia, a writer for Time magazine on business and the economy, a public policy and urban design consulting firm director, and a manager of strategic planning and legislative strategy for public broadcasting in Washington. He joined the AIGA in 1995. A humanist and internationalist, he has lived in Munich, Bristol (England), Lausanne, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, New York, San Francisco and Washington. Click on picture to read more about Ric Grefé. | |
| Editorial NYC Contributor |
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 | Winni Wintermeyer is a German-borne photographer and designer who operates 3-am in San Francisco kindly contributed the above photograph. With clients ranging from Epitaph/Anti Records, Fat Wreck Chords, DreamWorks Records, Red Herring Magazine, San Francisco Magazine, and Paper Magazine, speaks for Winni's self-taught success, to designing Tom Waits 'Blood Money' CD, Winni Wintermeyer seems to be the man with both the camera and the microphone - he used to be the singer for his own band back in Germany Click on picture to read more about Winni Wintermeyer | |
| Photography San Francisco Correspondent |
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Read SIMILAR ARTICLES on THE DRIVER SPEAKS
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© 2003 - 2007 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.