Abstract

This paper reports on the author’s work of evaluating the creative fostering techniques while engaging in collaborative cross-cultural design project with design practitioners and design educators. In a global educational environment that is filled with uncertainties and complex difficulties, how can instructors create and foster a learning situation that advances inventive, creative and critical thinking skills in students? What sort of methods and classroom atmospheres do educators need to elevate to face a testing electronic world, and in what capacity may students respond to such productive classroom situations?

Can creativity be fostered? And if so how will it impact the way design education is being delivered in Higher Educational institutes. This paper will reveal how by engaging in collaborative designing creativity can be fostered. By combining C-K theory and other creative models to create and develop a method that ensures creative output results. This is presented in the final artefact of an authored book.

The analysis of the design project and observation of participants in the research reveals new methods and techniques, which is presented to the reader. These views place the reader in the context of the research project and assert a mix of certainty regarding the position of fostering creativity in design education.

This paper argues that creativity in the design process is based on several key factors, and Higher Educational Design Institutions needs to get on board with the evolving discussion in this area. It is therefore imperative that design educators are constantly engaged in design practice with industry practitioners to ensure that design knowledge and design practice is current and evolving.

Keywords

Creativity, Cross-cultural design, Global educational environment, Designing creativity, Design educators, Production, Cultural diversity, Collaborative designing, Visualising design, Social construct, Participation, Artefacts, Project, Observational skills, Geographic location