Design Powers

An increasing number of publications underscore the importance of collaboration as part of a new paradigm within corporate, organizational, and institutional contexts. This research explores the tendency for design students, as well as educators and practitioners, to identify with specific competencies and design roles. Building on the idea of the integrated whole and the Myers-Briggs Type indicator, a preliminary model for team-based collaboration was developed for an undergraduate learning environment: Design Competencies in Collaboration (DESCO) Model. This model and the Design Powers System can help guide team-building activities and skill-assessment in order to support diverse teams with complementary skill-sets. The workshop demonstrated how the DESCO model can be utilized and provided testing materials to assist design educators in facilitating a collaborative, fun and productive learning environment in and outside classroom walls.

Read more about the system in Dialectic Journal.

co-designed, co-created, and co-tested with Denielle Emans.