Summit 09
The U.S. National Design Policy Initiative (NDPI) held its second summit in Washington D.C. this past Tuesday. There were around 30 people in attendance from professional design organizations, education, and government including:
AIGA, the professional association for design
Interaction Design Association (IxDA)
American Architectural Foundation (AAF)
American Institute of Architects (AIA)
American Society of Interior Designers (ASID)
Design Management Institute (DMI)
Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA)
International Interior Design Association (IIDA)
Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD)
Association for Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA)
Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD)
Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC)
National Association for Schools of Art and Design (NASAD)
Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum
National Park Service (NPS)
U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
U.S. Government Printing Office
They had five objectives for the summit, four of which they accomplished (#2 must be completed).
- Develop the 2010 strategic priorities for the U.S. National Design Policy Initiative
- Finalize membership of an “American Design Council”
- Gain a sense of the priorities for design from the Department of Commerce, USPTO
- Engage the wider design community in national design policy decision making
- Develop a set of case studies that demonstrate the value of design for publication
Prior to the summit, the NDPI posted a poll on its website, allowing people to vote on what they felt should be the organization’s top priority for 2010. Out of 324 votes, 75 (23%) voted for the introduction of design creativity and innovation learning modules into K-12 educational curriculum. This was almost twice as many votes as the second-place priority. I concur.
Design education is currently in a tricky position. There is more interest in the field then ever before, and the scope of problems that design can be applied to continues to grow. This means that there are more students applying to design programs than can be accepted, and that a designer must be trained in a wider range of skills, from traditional, visual design to technology and business. There isn’t enough time to cover it all in the typical undergraduate degree program. Introducing design education even at the high school level would significantly improve the quality of design education in this country.






