Design, a profession where an individual can really explore extraordinary possibilities in his/her quest to find relevant solutions for the identified problem statement.
A designer not only needs to build solutions that are innovative and adaptable, but also practical, feasible and have potential for growth (as a business or to make an Impact)
All the above requires a fresh and flexible mind that is able to shift between macro and micro thinking with ease.
A designer is able to connect the dots, read between the lines, make sense of mountains of information, critically evaluate options and choose the best idea which will resonate with thousands, if not millions of users & stakeholders. All the above adjectives/phrases/abilities are mere words that we play with as a part of grammar lessons in school, no one actually digs in deep to make us understand that these 'mere words' can actually influence our life decisions going forward.
A designer needs to be a good observer, a good listener, a good interpreter, a good story teller, team player and a hustler, one who can make his/her peace with, not knowing things and never accepts defeat just because the way forward was foggy. A creative thinker stays persistent and believes in one's abilities and the process to find a solution. All these skills can be developed if practiced (or rather can be taught) but it takes a while to be good at this. Unfortunately in today's education system, one is expected to learn them in the few years of graduation or post graduation course, is it really possible?
Why are we not introduced to any of these skills, techniques, tools or mindsets in our school education?
In school we are too occupied in proving ourselves against others. We are drawn to only care for 'my' assignments, my homework, my marks, my ranking. Parents at times are also subconsciously inducing this self centered approach by comparing us with others, giving us the examples of the best kid in the class and bribing us with our dream toy/game console or something that we really want, against marks at stake. To qualify for the reward, we are expected to not meet friends ,spend time out of the house, not use phones, not watch TV and list of restrictions goes on. But what they miss is we are in-directly missing one big thing: the 'Our', 'Us' and 'We' part in life. It's often too late by the time we realize this later in life.
In the corporate world, especially related to design and creative fields, the success or failure of any outcome lies in 'Us'. It's the team's success or failure, each member needs to contribute, coordinate and communicate effectively with other members to be able to successfully deliver an expected project outcome.
It therefore becomes very important for each member to become a team player, understand team dynamics, support others and never quit on your tem
A team member accepts leadership when the time calls for, also at times takes a step back and let go of one's ego for the larger good
Building these skills at a young age would reap a lot of benefits in later times, so can we start early?
The big question is, how can these skills be built at school level?
Few schools have started realizing the importance of personal development over only academic development. These schools are working with educational leaders and making changes like:
Introduction of experiential learning activities, to build curiosity amongst teenagers ,
Adding more group projects in the curriculum, to help youngsters adapt to working in a group
Offering electives where a student feels empowered to make decisions and select subject of their interest
Promoting peer learning activities to building a sense of sharing, responsibility and confidence
Interaction with the real world (professionals, entrepreneurs, artists) to allow students a chance to build a 360 degree thinking approach
Introduction to creative course in curriculum, and the list would go on.
It is time more schools and junior colleges realize these and act on them. Critical thinking and Creative problem solving is identified as one of the top skills for the future by the World Economic forum.
The more we expose our young generation to collaborative works at an early age, the more are the chances of them succeeding in this hyper competitive world, of other adults who missed out on this learning, workshops on 'Unschooling' are the best option to introduce them to tools and techniques to blend in this professional world.
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