Design educators are faced with an increasingly critical situation: how to prepare students for a field that is in constant flux. Programs following the traditional model of teaching skills that have been largely overtaken and devalued by automation, designers are potentially learning more effectively through work experience than in the classroom.

While producing traditional portfolios, curricula could be geared toward cultivating certain traits vital to the success of a modern designer ­— specifically, the ability to adapt, the qualities of entrepreneurship, collaboration, and overcoming the fear of failure and of the unknown. Demonstrated through analysis of results from surveys, literary investigation and anecdotal evidence, it is evident that these traits are not fully addressed, which puts design practitioners at a disadvantage as followers and not leaders.

The goal of this study is to understand the loss of design’s value and the potential to regain leadership through unexpected fields. To help reestablish a leadership role, programs could offer responsive curricula that would strengthen these core attributes to prepare new generations to meet any unexpected challenges as their profession evolves through technological advances. The aim is to lead students to an involvement in the preliminary stages in the work of other disciplines, encouraging designers to become involved earlier in the process instead of waiting to address visual solutions later on. This proactive involvement would increase the value of the designer, extend the longevity of the field and, at the same time, support the continued existence — and relevance — of design education.

Communication design educators must begin to develop responsive programs that address the need for graduates to demonstrate adaptability in a field that is constantly changing. Through collaborative efforts and entrepreneurial thinking, designers can expand the value of design thinking to other disciplines to become leaders in problem identifying and solving.