Halfway through design school: a reflection
What I’ve learned after 6 months at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design
When I joined Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID) I was excited, but also apprehensive. There is a general aversion towards design schools from the design community, and I was cautious about the idea that design schools can sometimes be a bubble. However, I feel like this is one of the best decisions I have made.
Being surrounded by multi-disciplinary people from different cultures and backgrounds has been a learning experience in more ways than one.
Here are a few things I learned 6 months through my education.
1. Working in a variety of teams
Teamwork in CIID is very different from what I was used to while working. Without any hierarchy, everyone is equally invested in the decision-making process. This leads to more democratic design decisions but takes more time in some cases.
An important aspect of managing the time for decision making was timeboxing each task. Move forward after each short time sprint.
Brainstorming can either extremely fun or challenging given the team and circumstances. I learned to hold back on cutting down my teammates' ideas too soon.
The most important method I learned was to keep building on my team’s ideas by saying “Yes, AND…” instead of “But..”.
This is particularly useful in the early stages of brainstorming, where divergence is key. Once there are enough ideas, the team can start to converge.
Working with people from different cultures and backgrounds is another important aspect I got to experience.
Different cultures have different biases. Seeing this in others led me to understand what biases I have too.
2. Giving and receiving feedback
Communication is key at CIID. Getting and giving feedback are part of the daily routine in the studio. For the best feedback, there needs to be an atmosphere of trust and respect. CIID is quite good at providing that.
While giving feedback, I try to be as clear and precise as I can. Instead of talking about how to solve the problem, I try to describe the problem. The why instead of the how.
I’m still figuring out how to serve up constructive criticism well. I never liked receiving the compliment sandwich, but it seems to work while giving feedback in some cases.
For receiving feedback, it’s always good to remember that it’s never personal. Hearing praise is good, but the best feedback I’ve received has identified problems that I could then try solving. It’s also nice to specify what exactly you want feedback on.
3. Life-centered design
Design for me was only human-centered design before I came to CIID. I now realize that there is a larger system that is affected by anything you design.
Human beings are not separate from the planet that we all live, including the biggest climate systems, and therefore everything in one way or another affects everything else — even if we can’t identify that. Life-centred Design means contributing to all living systems in a way that not only “does no harm” but actively helps them survive and thrive. — Cassie Robinson
This is a change in mindset that I feel is needed to improve life on the planet not just for us, but for all life on Earth. There are global problems like climate change that need solving which cannot be solved with just a human-centered design mindset.
Life centered design is very much about the big picture. It tries to leave the Earth in a better state by design. It is as much about the present as it is about the future, and it is built to last.
4. Designer + _______.
My background is in Computer Science Engineering. I always thought it didn’t have much to do with my design career, except maybe that I could communicate with developers better, but I was wrong.
Now, after having learned how to use coding to solve design problems, I realize there is a whole other aspect to it. My background in engineering and my current identity as a designer are not separate. In fact, programming compliments my design skills surprisingly well.
I learned this through courses like Physical Computing, Immersive Experiences, Sensory Design, Machine Learning, and many more, where I created design solutions that were possible only because I knew how to code.
Looking at my classmates too, I see how their background is starting to complement their skills as a designer. I feel it is quite powerful to see how different backgrounds (like law, journalism, engineering etc) can have a hand in one’s journey as a designer, and each of them is unique in their own way.
Having Design + another background can be extremely powerful by broadening perspective and providing more ways of thinking.
5. LOTS of frameworks and skills
CIID has a broad curriculum. It covers a huge breadth of topics and gives you enough tools and confidence to go deeper into each of the topics.
From technical skills like electronic circuitry and physical prototyping to software like Unity3D, Processing, and Wekinator, it has been a wide array of hard skills. There have also been a lot of other skills along the way, like storytelling, good critique, presentations, and teamwork.
In addition to these skills, I’ve also used a lot of frameworks over the past 6 months. Frameworks help organize the unstructured mess of the design process. I realize it’s an important skill to know when to use what framework to keep moving forward in the process in the most efficient way. I do think I’m slowly getting the hang of that.
I feel I can approach problems in a more structured way now. After breaking down the problem, I also have a vast array of ways I can implement solutions.
All of the skills I’ve learned have been relevant and valuable additions to my “design toolkit”.
6. Stay curious
On a personal level, I feel it’s important to take everything with an open mindset. There have been 17 courses so far, and I’ve enjoyed each of them. They ranged from Service Design to things like AR/VR Design. It was an amazing opportunity to get to learn a vast array of design domains from experts in the field.
I realized that you have to be the one to take control of your learning. No one is going to push you. Staying curious is great as it helps me pick up things and spend time practicing skills as I can remain genuinely excited about exploring further.
This is how I feel about my design education so far. Going into the next 6 months, I feel excited and nervous, but I know I’ll come out the other end a better designer🤞.
Credit for the telescope, toolkit, hat, puzzle pieces illustrations goes to Freepik. The illustration style is inspired by July Pluto.
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at ahujasid@gmail.com. If you enjoyed it, do leave a few claps👏!
