Design Intentions and Knowledge in Untutored Sign Makers: Implications for Design Pedagogy

• In Event: Design Research Methods

Abstract

Design students have long been viewed through a deficit lens, emphasizing what they do not know or how their intentions are misguided. However, the argument has been made that untutored designers do engage in valid decision-making, although without the tangible and conceptual tools needed to support their intentions. In this study, thirty interviews with untutored designers of public signage reveal that they form intentions and attend to issues consistent with those that we try to instill in our students. Implications for design pedagogy and for how we think about what we consider to be valid decision-making in design are discussed.

Authors

• Elizabeth Boling, Indiana University

• Kennon M. Smith, Indiana University