Abstract

Moving from the rigid limitations of single disciplinary studies into interdisciplinary practices and trans-disciplinary services, hybridization becomes an inevitable provocation extending the implication of design into many fields. Hybridization is not new to design; examining the design process on a micro scale one realizes that the process is hybrid in itself. According to Dr. Kabat-Zinn, “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.” This entails a conscious and deliberate direction of awareness. Mindfulness and awareness are not interchangeable terms; being aware means to acknowledge something is, mindfulness offers intention and ability to bring thoughts into the present, hereby making available a moment of deliberate choice, empathic connection to the environment and compassion toward the other. Cognition is defined as mental ability involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension. Cognition requires thinking, knowing, judging, decision-making and problem-solving. This article presents a process of hybridization in which the design process is an amalgam of mindful and cognition processes, and its implication to education. The hybrid is supported by a classification tool with a “3M” scale that varies between purely Mechanical to Mindful going through Mental. This article builds on research into the design process previously published as “Design Flows.”