We’re all misfit consumers — we need inclusive design

 

Friday, August 26, 2016

We’re all misfit consumers — we need inclusive design” — In her article, Jutta Treviranus, director of the Inclusive Design Research Centre at OCAD University, discusses a course titled Unlearning And Questioning, part of the two-year master’s study in Inclusive Design, intended to question assumptions, unlearn conformity and remove boundaries to thought. The students from very diverse backgrounds are challenged with unlearning the fear of “drawing outside the lines” — the compunction to label, sort, rank, filter and conform. They relearn the priceless value of mistake-making and failure. The ultimate learning outcome is a “radical form of inclusive design” that is seen as the next generation of design thinking. The inclusive-design students imagine scenarios of successful innovation agendas, stretching into several successive generations. They consider the potential impact on the complex adaptive system that is our global society. The class soon discovers that if we are rethinking innovation, we also need to rethink common assumptions about entangled factors such as markets, customers, employment, design, research and development. Invariably, our inclusive design students propose that the innovation race we should embark upon is not a race against other countries, but a race against escalating economic disparity and environmental deterioration. They conclude that collaboration and inclusion are good economic strategies – and challenges that Canada is uniquely prepared to accept.

Sarah Tranum, "CleanCube Project" Poster
The Office of Research & Innovation is excited to launch of the fourth iteration of the "This is Research" campaign to raise awareness about research at OCAD University.
Rendering of black industrial structure against black background
The Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair and The Centre for Emerging Artists and Designers are excited to announce Andre Baynes as the 2020 Recipient of the Artist Project Career Launcher.
The OCAD U Print Shop will be closing at 6:00pm on Monday, January 27th due to illness. We apologize for any and all inconvenience.   
Photo of two large landscape collages with wood frame door in middle
The Gladstone Hotel and the Centre for Emerging Artists and Designers are thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2020 Come Up To My Room Career Launcher, Maxwell Lander and Aaron Jones.
The OCAD University community is deeply saddened by the news of the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash that claimed the lives of 176 people near Tehran yesterday. 
DesignTO bus advertisement rendering.
This year, DesignTO partnered with OCAD University’s Design4 program to create look and feel of the festival’s 10th Anniversary.
OCAD University mourns death of Jeremy Vincent Urbina, student in the Faculty of Art
Abid Virani and Aliwar Pillai, co-founders, Fable Tech Labs (photo courtesy: Forbes)
OCAD U alumni, Alwar Pillai and Abid Virani, co-founders of Fable Tech Labs, were named in Forbes Magazine’s latest Top 30 under 30 list.
Photo credit: Christina Gapic
Friday, August 26, 2016

We’re all misfit consumers — we need inclusive design” — In her article, Jutta Treviranus, director of the Inclusive Design Research Centre at OCAD University, discusses a course titled Unlearning And Questioning, part of the two-year master’s study in Inclusive Design, intended to question assumptions, unlearn conformity and remove boundaries to thought. The students from very diverse backgrounds are challenged with unlearning the fear of “drawing outside the lines” — the compunction to label, sort, rank, filter and conform. They relearn the priceless value of mistake-making and failure. The ultimate learning outcome is a “radical form of inclusive design” that is seen as the next generation of design thinking. The inclusive-design students imagine scenarios of successful innovation agendas, stretching into several successive generations. They consider the potential impact on the complex adaptive system that is our global society. The class soon discovers that if we are rethinking innovation, we also need to rethink common assumptions about entangled factors such as markets, customers, employment, design, research and development. Invariably, our inclusive design students propose that the innovation race we should embark upon is not a race against other countries, but a race against escalating economic disparity and environmental deterioration. They conclude that collaboration and inclusion are good economic strategies – and challenges that Canada is uniquely prepared to accept.