Design Literacy, Discourse and Communities of Practice

Abstract

Presented primarily in the context of graduate education, this paper argues that apprentice-master pedagogical models of learning and the development of exclusively tacit knowledge are inadequate resources for preparing the next generation of high-level design practitioners or teachers. Today's design context requires more than formal aesthetic or technical skills — it requires the ability to operate critically in an ever-growing information environment, the global economy and within inter- and multi-disciplinary teams. While all three of the just mentioned facets are important, this paper focuses on the information environment through discussion of design literacy, discourse and communities of practice.