Educating Emotionally Intelligent Designers

Marcia Stone, Lecturer, Herron School of Art and Design, Indiana University at IUPUI

Design often involves turning intangibles into tangibles – in complex, constantly shifting, confusing situations. To thicken the plot, co-creators, clients, bosses, and collaborators also become involved as part of the process. The challenge is immense, even for the most seasoned design professional. As a visual communication educator at Herron School of Art and Design, I’ve observed that the biggest hurdles to success for even our best design students come when emotional intelligence, process understanding, open communication and clear team structures are lacking. So we started teaching these things, alongside traditional design topics. To my surprise, student designers say that these interpersonal skills are the most important lessons of their design education. This session will focus on practical ways for design educators and practitioners to think beyond WHAT they create to engage HOW they work. The design process, team development and assessment, conflict management and the signs of successful collaboration will be explored through discussion and interactive exercises.