March 14: Symposium – RE:look Design – Core Competencies in Transition
In the last couple of years we have experienced an increasing interest in 'design's' capability to deal with complex issues, and designerly ways to approach wicked problems are often recognized as powerful.
Practicing industrial designers are engaged in an ever more expanding field of work from the careful design of physical artifacts, to developing services, experiences, interactions, strategies and innovations. Sometimes in line with, but often also at odds with, sustainability concerns.
Instead of trying to define the limits or borders of industrial design, this symposium will focus on what the core competencies of a designer might be. Is it possible to define the current core competencies of an industrial designer? Are there specific ingredients of the industrial design profession that makes its contribution valuable in shaping futures? To what extent is design influenced and following other professions and lines of thought, and to what extent is design driving change? Is the core mix of competencies stable or in constant transition? How can this be understood and nurtured inside and outside design schools?
This symposium will be an opportunity for discussions between practitioners, academics and students in design, seeded by several inspiring presenters. The participants will discuss, debate and propose important competencies designers should manage in order to be able to contribute in ways that other professions cannot. Or in other words:
What are the differences that make a difference?
You can watch the documentation of the seminar here.