Seventeenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

Digital technologies have become fundamental to designers in their educational and professional practice. The speed of technology change has been profound, and design practitioners, educators, and students have been challenged with reimagining what constitutes an education that is more responsive to a digital transformation. The digital transformation of design is a technical process as well as a learning process that widely applies to the way organizations engage with technology on a day-to-day basis. As massive amounts of data are rapidly and constantly generated, the approach that a designer takes to interpreting and using data sources and digital technologies is critical to being prepared to solve the most contemporary and complex digital and interactive challenges, whether in an education or a professional work setting. Attempts to address the digital transformation of design has often been reactive, emphasizing skills requirements without always examining what pedagogical practices best support designers as they pursue their careers and seek to engage with creative, innovative, and research-driven work. Through mixed methods research, including both survey analysis and in-depth semi-structured interviews, this research investigates changing educational practices sensitive to the digital transformation of design.