Designers who are T-shaped thinkers are the most valuable as they are the ones who have the ability and the expertise to ‘cross-pollinate’ ideas. They enjoy a breadth of knowledge in multiple fields but they also have the required depth of expertise and skills in their sphere which is core design. According to Tim Brown the name behind IDEO, T-shaped thinkers ‘defy simple categorization’. The idea of cross-pollination in design is one of the key facets of innovation and a T-shaped thinker is at the heart of this idea.
Being a designer and an educator, I always question how we cater to this need of student development. Students enter the higher education college arena to educate themselves about their key area of focus—the vertical bar of the T, with one of the main aims at the end of the day to be fruitfully employed. What and how much of a responsibility do we as educators have to make sure that along with that core knowledge they seek, they too get the breadth of knowledge that would make them into holistic professionals with a long-term focus on success.
Our current situation, with post-secondary education going online for an unforeseeable future, has made us educators grapple with ways to make our courses viable and relevant. This is an opportune time for us as educators to take an introspective look at our content, delivery, and our teaching methodology.
How can we prepare our students to be successful in this current climate? A recent Gartner poll [gartner.com] showed that 48% of employees will likely continue to work remotely. Though designers have, even before this current circumstance, worked remotely with a considerable degree of triumph, doing so, without being equipped with the appropriate tools can be isolating and demotivating and it falls back on us designers to seek inspiration from the world around us.
This brings me to what I always do myself and recommend to students on day one of class; keep a notebook at all times. Sketch, draw, write, word associate, mind map, whatever works for them. Brain-storming in any form is not a one-way street. It is a dialogue we have with ourselves; an interaction of arguments and moves. The more exposed we are, the more intelligent and worthwhile these dialogues will be. Our notebooks or sketchbooks become our idea banks, and the sketches and words we put in our idea currency. The more you have invested, the richer you will be in terms of your return.
How can we as design educators instill this value and skill set in our students?
- Expand upon their interest; introduce them to exciting books to read, films to watch, social media accounts to follow.
- Have a dialogue beyond the course work; touch upon current affairs, history, emerging trends. Talk about what is happening in the world, politically, socially, culturally. Make them global citizens.
- Give them an opportunity to share what excites them; it could be that new video game or a show they saw on Netflix, hobbies, activities, sports they like. How they think about the world, and what is meaningful to them.
- Give options for them to dabble in what interests them and connect the same to their programmatic focus. If your student loves to bake or rock climb, give them an opportunity and the impetus to connect the two in their course work.
- Protect them from the enigma which is expertise and tech skills; don’t let the idea of advanced knowledge and skillset in one area keep them away from seeing new ideas and existing ideas with new insight.
- Above all, listen actively, encourage them to do the same. Demonstrate and cultivate empathy.
This can be a good start and let your own T-shaped personality take it on from there.
