Abstract

This article shares the results of research into the designing for one approach, a term referring to a (student) designer designing for one individual in which the individual’s specific interests, accessible tools, capabilities, etc. shape the designer’s process and are reflected in the resulting bespoke design. This particular study looked at four individual case studies in which design students of diverse design disciplines and educational levels from universities in the US and in Belgium used this approach. The cases were analyzed by a panel of twenty-one design education experts looking specifically to identify factors that were different within this approach from that of the educator’s own practice, factors that potentially had shifted the educational context and student experience from the known and routine into areas that were unfamiliar. Next to this, the analysis included over 200 pages of interview transcripts from students in the four cases, looking to identify how these identified factors impacted the student’s experience. Using the participant’s own voice to provide context to these points of difference, this article offers readers a list of eleven variables that were identified as factors which set the designing for one approach apart from standard, skills-based design education. A call to action for educators, the article proposes how these variables can facilitate a shift in learning to bring students experiences that challenge their discipline, medium, and processes.