Article Review: "Socratic Dialogue in Design Education" by Neil Matthiessen

The opening line in this article is, “To engage in design, there must be an understanding that design is to solve problems, to find new details, to give meaning to something that already has a connotation.” The introduction describes how defining those problems and finding solutions is at the heart of design. Although this article is about educating influential graphic designers, the focus on solving issues speaks to human performance. It proposes that the Socratic method be used to define the problems and how the student’s work can connect and help solve them.

The Socratic method is a longstanding tradition in academia. It is used to unearth errors and inconsistencies in one’s line of logic. It occurs by the questioner takes on the role of an ignorant questioner.

This article seems geared toward college graphic design educators and would make an excellent conference presentation. The intention is to show that graphic design isn’t just about making websites and PowerPoint slides attractive. It is about solving problems. And though it is not explicitly stated, it is clear that the author is referring to human problems and solutions. The author wants to communicate that those human problems must be central to graphic design decisions and seems to imply that this applies to any field in which design is involved.

The proposed method for ensuring that students are problem-solution-based involves employing the Socratic method throughout the design program so that such an approach becomes second nature. This habit will then be carried into the working world, where understanding design’s value regarding problem-solving is essential.

Although this proposed method is not the result of formal research, it does come from experience. The author states his observations and discusses the intent of providing the educator with tools to challenge assumptions and help the student understand the added value that graphic design, and perhaps all design endeavors, bring to the table when solving problems. Indeed, it could be considered common sense to assume that any business dedicates any portion of its salary toward a position because there are specific problems that the company expects the employee or holder of that position to solve. There is an expectation that that person’s work will bring added value to the table, and the employee must understand what that value is and how they can bring solutions to the table through their work. Furthermore, learning designers are sometimes asked to employ graphic design. Learning designers must know that how they organize information and objects on a screen has a problem-solving purpose.

Thinking through problems with questions is often touted as the best way to get to the bottom line and engineer creative solutions. However, after reading the article, I realized that the Socratic method was not explained in detail. Someone new to the concept may think that any question will do when it comes back to the Socratic method. However, Kraut (2020) indicates that the line of questioning is more than just a series of random questions. The sequence of questions is carefully crafted to walk the thinker through the information and allows for the information to be coherently organized. A bit more about the Socratic method within the article could give the reader a clearer picture of how the Socratic method is used to help designers understand the connection between their craft and problem-solving. Conversely, given that the article seems geared toward teachers, it may have been assumed that the method would already be well known.

Thinking through problems with questions and taking the role of the ignorant observer is a fantastic strategy for thinking outside the box and overcoming the assumptions we often make. As a learning designer, I sometimes have to make graphic design decisions, and I had not thought about how these decisions were part of a solution to a problem. Reading this article challenged me to include my graphic design decisions to support the issue. This article has also challenged me to take on the ignorant observer role and ask myself questions as I work. In particular, it inspired me to consider how all my design decisions contribute to a solution in the context of a human performance problem.

References

Kraut, R. (2020, December 23). Socrates. Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Socrates

Matthiessen, N. (2011). Socratic Dialogue in Design Education. In: Marcus, A. (eds) Design,

User Experience, and Usability. Theory, Methods, Tools, and Practice. DELUXE 2011. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6769. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21675-6_11