IE Colloquium: From Designers-Makers to Designers-Problem Solvers?

Dr. Solvita Zarina, associate professor in the Faculty of Computing at the University of Latvia, will be the speaker.

Recent transition towards user-centered design approach and the emergence of service design challenges the role and norms of traditional design. It also introduces some topical questions in design education. Not only these changes demand to focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, but also the core concept of designer as maker is about to change. Acquiring necessary technical and artistic skills was one of the foundation stones in graphic and industrial design education. With the emergence of strategic and service design, this unshakable concept shifts towards design thinking and problem solving as main tools of trade, thus pushing the boundaries of what design can be and do. On the other hand, industrial designers face recent change of consumers’ trends demanding for more socially responsible solutions. Beside design — industry collaboration practice interdisciplinary engagements across the arts, humanities, and social sciences become more and more appreciated. By introducing some case studies, this talk deals with the question — what is design knowledge today.

About the speaker

Solvita Zarina is an associate professor in the faculty of computing at the University of Latvia. She is lead researcher at the Laboratory for Innovative Information Technology (Faculty of Computing). She holds a Ph.D. from the Art Academy of Latvia. Dr. Zarina is a member of the Artists’ Union of Latvia. She has developed several graphic design and visual communication courses for Faculty of Computing, including Introduction to Web Design, Graphic Design for User Interface, Selected Topics of Visual Communication Design, as well as Scientific Seminar: From Modern to Contemporary Art; From Design to Web Design (paying homage to Professor R. M. Freivalds). Her courses are tailored to prepare students with the strategies necessary for the creation of a body of work that reflects effective responses to visual communication problems.