Designers & Learners of the Future
The designer of the future should be able to embrace multiple ethnic and racial groups and truly become a culture-based designer. This designer might be versed in creative and research skills in order to provide multiple talents to clients. He or she might be proficient in technological skills.
To prepare for this role, designers might ask themselves: How can I better serve the client and my target audience?, What about myself do I need to change to grow as a designer? and What can I learn from others?
The learner of the future should be multilingual and multi-talented. They are proficient in speaking, reading, and writing two or more languages. Socially savvy in meeting and working with people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds and operating in both national and international circles. They exhibit a comfortable manner in working with all people. The learner of the future is able to adapt to a variety of learning situations and views learning as a life long process.
Thinking about the designer and learner of the future has implications for the type of design work that should be done in the coming decades. This means that design thinking must translate into design doing. It also means that the development of products and services might benefit from some futures thinking and futures designing.
CBM is a call for the production of products that can transform today’s learner into tomorrows. There is a great need for design to catch up with technology. Only through more creative design thinking can this happen. The inclusion of specialized designs and the improvement of generic designs are two ways to begin this journey.