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Design+ An appropriate design education

mnemotechnical tools were employed out of immediate also involves constructing a style of thought and action, as
necessity and urgency, it became essential to reflect on the De Certeau understood it.
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experience, which extended beyond the aforementioned
list that emerged from the activities of various courses. 5. Conclusion
In response to the points above, we aimed to construct The educational objective is to prepare students not only
an educational model – definitely not stable enough to become professionals but also to act as catalysts within
to be called a methodology – that could transform the their contexts – activating resources, building networks,
experience into repeatable actions and strategies. This and identifying, defining, and solving both dormant and
effort sought to define the theoretical background for the existing problems.
concepts mentioned earlier.
These aspects are evident in the design training
The pandemic highlighted the possibility of using model, where the laboratory setting plays a central role
different tools and practices, but it also exposed particular in the acquisition of knowledge. This model applies
tendencies among students, along with original methods a transdisciplinary perspective that emphasizes the
in the genesis of their projects. This situation prompted us integration of social, economic, and even political contexts,
to establish a broad-based reference system, adaptable to as demonstrated, for example, by the Master’s program
the specific needs of various programs. The Post-graduate offered by the School of Visual Arts in New York.
School, for instance, offers 1-year program with a strong
professional orientation. During the same period, IED Ultimately, this approach redefines disciplinary
launched its first Master of Fine Arts in Transdisciplinary boundaries, extending beyond academic contexts
Design, which provided an opportunity to rethink a new (Van der Bijl-Brouwer). It also expands the metaphors
methodological approach. surrounding the role of design itself, whether as “binding
glue” (again, Van der Bijl-Brouwer), a mediator and
To start from the basics and allow for maximum provocateur (Geenen), or as “water-tracing dye” (Gaudio,
adaptability, the initial references were drawn from Hallgrimssona, and Marshal), as outlined in Design
psychology and pedagogy, with a reflection that had to Methods and Transdisciplinary Practices, the 2022 edition
encompass all aspects of the educational process. of the Design Research Society Conference Series. 22
First, we considered the creation of an environment In short, as the scope of design expands to encompass
rich in stimuli, one that fosters the development of a wider range of contexts and practices, the skills of
the student’s creative abilities. The reference here is to designers must evolve. These skills must integrate
Winnicot’s concept of the transitional object, which disciplinary knowledge that cannot be fully mastered by
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enables young children to form a sense of autonomy any one individual in the profession. The key question,
and identity separate from their primary relationship then, is whether design can serve as a structural and
with the mother. The objects help children create structuring mediator that respects the diversity and depth
connections with the surrounding world that they can of this knowledge. Design must balance, on the one hand,
claim as their own. Similarly, tools — both technological adopting a point of view common to disciplines that share
and conceptual — serve this purpose in the educational a practical focus, and, on the other hand, leveraging its
context.
well-established ability to break boundaries and establish
Second, we explored Bion’s approach to training, analogies between different fields, shaping knowledge itself
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which involves the transformation of raw experience as a malleable material.
into organized systems and narratives. A system can be
a useful metaphor for both defining the design approach Acknowledgments
and understanding its impact. The theme of narrative also The author wishes to thank Laura Valentini, psychologist
reminds us of the importance of a humanistic interpretation and Health Manager, for the suggestions on psychological
of the project during its operational phase, as well as the and clinical issues; Marta Dal Vecchio, Head of the
utility of storytelling in its communicative phase. Postgraduate School of IED Milan, and its coordinators

Finally, we considered Piaget’s view of education, and managers for their contribution in the development
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which he derived from his daily observations of his of educational models; Nico Abbruzzese, Giselle Chajin
children. His work emphasizes the relationship between Florez, Federico Klutzer, Sarah Khamisi, Surya Vanka,
the assimilation of external data and the accommodation Darren Yeo, Sigurdur Thorsteinsson, Valentina Downey
of this data within a framework based on a constant for recent examples of innovative application of design
interplay between practice and evidence. This approach methodologies.

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2025) 5 doi: 10.36922/dp.4757