Abstract
Research shows that communication design programs in higher education settings historically encourage design skills, a.k.a. the tech savvy designer, over personal attributes. This approach creates design students with excellent computer skills but who are identity deprived. When design students’ identity is underdeveloped, when students don’t know what it is to holistically become a designer, it becomes a barrier to successfully transitioning from student to professional. Research shows that it is crucial for students to not only benefit from learning what it means to act and perform as a professional but also what it means to become one. To better prepare them for the industry and respond to design-based challenges, it’s important for higher education design programs to help students discover their designer professional identity (DPI). With these implications, design educators would be wise to incorporate DPI development into their classrooms. Providing students with authentic experiences, real-world challenges, reflection opportunities and extra-curricular activities begin to help students become a designer. In this study, Design-Based Research (DBR) provides the methodological framework to specifically explore the role of reflective practices in discovering how communication design students’ professional identities are developed through design curriculum.
Presenters
Denise BoslerChair and Professor, Communication Design, Kutztown University, Pennsylvania, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Design, Higher Education, Professional Identity, Self-Reflection, Eudaimonic Identity Theory, Transformative
