Expanding Orders of Design and its Implications for Design Education

ABSTRACT In the twentieth century, design was mostly about shaping objects and materializing human needs and desires. Industrial design discipline, which was born after the industrial revolution, was characterized as an applied art and applied science aimed at improving the aesthetics, ergonomics, functionality, and usability of a product. Technological developments and increasing complexity of socio-economic problems in the twenty-first century have transformed the design understanding and expanded the field of ‘product’ design. In this article, the main factors and influencers of this transformation are summarized. Taxonomies exist in the design literature which systematically illustrate the expanding field of design disciplines is presented. As an outcome of this comprehensive literature review, The Orders of Design Education (ODE) framework which is designed to guide industrial design education has been shared. This new approach could be used as a practical tool for exploring or evaluating the curricula in product design programs. Furthermore, it offers a systemic description of the broad areas in design and therefore helps students and instructors alike to discover new horizons for design education.