These are notes from a conversation with one of my graduates (Caroline Smith, Head of Design, Amiqus). After her Designer Talk (which also gave me food for thought for The School of Design), we had a conversation. That conversation evolved into a Slack discussion, which is still ongoing. I might update this post as we exchange ideas.
Smith: “Your ‘product’ is the person who’s going to emerge from the school. The School of Design is like a little a little factory that creates people like this.”
Murphy: I think you’re right, I’m focusing on building design thinkers and – as you said – I need to think about the person that comes out the other side of the equation.
In my mind the person that comes out of the other side of the equation is someone like you: someone that measures twice, cuts once, i.e. someone who puts as much thought into what they’re designing and building as they do designing and building.
A big part of my challenge just now is: How long does this take? I’m very much a sprint-driven person. I get distracted easily (something I see as a strength), so I need to lean into that. My style is like magnesium, it burns very, very brightly, but very, very quickly. So I’m starting to think that this programme is a series of short, sharp sprints. Perhaps a two week sprint:
- 3–4 × Evening Talks (Mostly me, but also guests); and
- 1 × Saturday Workshop.
I think there need to be some kinds of tasks, i.e. each ‘module’ has an output.
I suspect that output will in some of the modules lean towards a piece of writing or a presentation. I also think there will be some practical, design-driven tasks. Perhaps working with partners, like Up, a bank who I’ve been talking to.
The goal is to create a generation of design leaders: individuals who question design and explore its purpose and potential.
