Creative synergies within a social context.

Abstract

Designing for our Environment has been a common and effective practice in

Design Education at the tertiary level for most Singapore design institutions. As

for design education at the secondary level, the younger students may not have

the relevant exposures to this learning approach. This particular project was set

for these young students between the ages of 13 to 15 to exemplify this learning

approach of putting design within our environment.

This project also clearly demonstrated the concept of putting “Theory into

Practice” in Design Education. Design education has to be contextualised and it

should start with young minds of our generation. This group of teenagers

managed to understand the needs of their elderly clients and conveyed their

message in the form of visual communication which encompasses the below

dimensions:

1. Using the visual language appropriately as a visual communication tool to

their clients.

* Communicating with the patients and other audiences through a

functional platform.

2. Creating designs focusing on the fundamentals of design elements and

principles.

* Amalgamating design elements and therapeutic capabilities.

This paper will further elaborate on these main points and discuss how effective it

is for students to learn in a collaborative platform and showcasing what they have

learnt in a social context. It will also identify the main learning points for a more

effective design education in our Secondary Schools.