What is 21st Century Design Education and are we doing it wrong?

Designers are entrusted with increasingly complex challenges and the stakes have never been higher. The complex, risky and impactful endeavours of modern design reach far beyond the technical constraints and commercial rewards experienced by previous generations; now designers are expected to shoulder the burden of global challenges (e.g. the SDGs), to deal with complex human behaviours and societal concerns, plus the impact of the Anthropocene crisis, whilst navigating (and advocating for) new technologies and the erosion of traditional fields of practice. This is a model of practice where designers are shapers of society, activists and agents for change, rather than service providers. Despite the popularity of television shows that depict design as an aesthetic practice, design is no longer simply about ‘making things pretty’ or ‘making it work better’, cheaper to make, nicer to use, or more desirable, although there is still gainful employment in those missions. In design education, does an over-reliance on traditional skills and artifact production expressed through striking graduate exhibitions, work to the detriment of graduates and the profession, masking the urgent need for a comprehensive review of what, and how we teach design, and why? This paper aims to provide a critical provocation, seeking to understand the constantly evolving paradigm of design practice, to identify required graduate attributes and models of curricula and pedagogy that ensure that graduates are prepared and armed with the appropriate skillset for future global practice. Is design education still fit for purpose, or are we doing it wrong