Models of resilient adaptive practice
Year: 2013
Editor: John Lawlor, Ger Reilly, Robert Simpson, Michael Ring, Ahmed Kovacevic, Mark McGrath, William Ion, David Tormey, Erik Bohemia, Chris McMahon, Brian Parkinson
Author: Trathen, Stephen; Varadarajan, Soumitri
Series: E&PDE
Institution: 1: University of Canberra, Australia; 2: Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Australia
Section: Reflections on Design Teaching
Page(s): 164-169
ISBN: 978-1-904670-42-1
Abstract
This paper examines the development of the Australian graduate industrial designer in a period of significant change. It explores the mismatches between current industrial design education approaches, the lived experiences of recent graduates and the changing design employment ecology both globally and locally. It also highlights the instability generated by the lack of consensus on the role, function and parameters of industrial design as a discipline and a profession: instability which both contributes to and is caused by these incongruities. The research is based upon primary qualitative research which investigated the career trajectories and practices of a group of industrial design graduates qualifying from an Australian University in the period 1996-2006. Participants took part in semi-structured interviews developed from predetermined themes drawn from a review of literature and reflections on my own practice as a design educator. The resultant rich narratives of the graduatesâ lived experiences provided the opportunity to identify and analyse the application of industrial design and industrial design education to the range of possible employment and professional sectors of practice. A key finding was the resilience and adaptability demonstrated by these graduates as they negotiated multiple forms of design practice. On the basis of this research, a series of models were developed. This paper details two of the descriptive theoretical models: The Adopter-Adapter-Departer model: which described three categories of industrial design graduates; and the Thematic Map of Australian Industrial Design Practice, which depicted the themes of practice which emerged from the interview data.
Keywords: Design practice, resilience, design education, industrial design