T+ designers : a case for transdisciplinarity in design higher education by way of a South African case study

Abstract

In recent years, the term ‘transdisciplinarity’ has been widely applied to collaborative design approaches ranging from inter- to multi-disciplinary co-production. While each of these approaches have their place, many of them are labeled, tokenistically, as transdisciplinary. A transdisciplinary model of collaboration, as defined by Toomey et al. (2015) extends beyond academic boundaries to engage in the co-production and use of knowledge from within and outside of the academy. In design, the term ‘T-shaped designers’, championed by IDEO's Tim Brown, is often used when promoting design thinking to tackle complex problems. The vertical leg of the ‘T’ represents disciplinary depth, and the horizontal bar suggests the application of these skills across a breadth of contexts. For this paper, we extend the interdisciplinary nature of the T to a transdisciplinary one: we propose how transdisciplinarity can be used not only to deepen disciplinary design skills but to foster empathetic, reactive designers with a keen sense of inquiry. In this way, as the vertical stem extends upwards, it transforms the T-shape into a plus. We exemplify this transformation by presenting a curriculum-related design project. As a collaboration between [the University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa (SA), and the University of Roehampton (UR), United Kingdom] the project was delivered in a transdisciplinary way, whereby students co-produced a series of accessible and engaging infomotions (information visualizations in motion). The infomotions, which disseminate strategies for effective partnership amongst early childhood intervention practitioners in South Africa. At its core, the project presents transdisciplinarity as one approach to future-proof design education.