Abstract
The possibilities for collaboration among faculty teaching in various disciplines in an art and design college are often limited by the language we use to analyze, create, and discuss our work. Although there may, in fact, be a great deal of overlap, our language sometimes obscures rather than clarifies the possibility of productive and fruitful overlap. Our paper—itself the fruit of a collaboration between a professor of graphic design and a professor of English—discusses the ways in which various constituent groups at our college talk about visuals (e.g., logos, advertisements, interiors, photographs, illustrations, etc), noting the ways in which our language limits cross-disciplinary critique and collaboration and suggesting ways in which it might be more inclusive and encouraging of both. We share the results of our surveys and interviews with members of our faculty from diverse disciplines in design, fine art, art history, art education, and general education. Using the rhetorical triangle as a tool, we then consider the implications that our results have for improving interdisciplinary dialogue among faculty at the college as well as for improving our students’ educational experiences across the curriculum so that we may better prepare them for an increasingly collaborative work environment and world.
Keywords
Design Education, Rhetoric, Collaboration, Interdisciplinarity, Language
Citation
Dow, A., and Engbers, S. (2014) Envisioning a Better Design Education: How Language Can Invite or Discourage Collaboration, in Lim, Y., Niedderer, K., Redström, J., Stolterman, E. and Valtonen, A. (eds.), Design's Big Debates - DRS International Conference 2014, 16-19 June, Umeå, Sweden. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2014/researchpapers/113
Envisioning a Better Design Education: How Language Can Invite or Discourage Collaboration
The possibilities for collaboration among faculty teaching in various disciplines in an art and design college are often limited by the language we use to analyze, create, and discuss our work. Although there may, in fact, be a great deal of overlap, our language sometimes obscures rather than clarifies the possibility of productive and fruitful overlap. Our paper—itself the fruit of a collaboration between a professor of graphic design and a professor of English—discusses the ways in which various constituent groups at our college talk about visuals (e.g., logos, advertisements, interiors, photographs, illustrations, etc), noting the ways in which our language limits cross-disciplinary critique and collaboration and suggesting ways in which it might be more inclusive and encouraging of both. We share the results of our surveys and interviews with members of our faculty from diverse disciplines in design, fine art, art history, art education, and general education. Using the rhetorical triangle as a tool, we then consider the implications that our results have for improving interdisciplinary dialogue among faculty at the college as well as for improving our students’ educational experiences across the curriculum so that we may better prepare them for an increasingly collaborative work environment and world.