Design Principles
Design with Creativity
Creativity inspires learning. It is through this lens that learning experiences are created and design choices are made. Creativity should run through the aesthetics of design as well as its structural and functional qualities. Accessing the creative self at the center of learning is a recognition of the multiplicity of each learner and their learning process as an individualized, culturally rich phenomenon. To this end, designing learning environments in which the unique blend of knowledge and experience of each learner feels safe to explore and grow is essential to placing creativity at the center of practice.
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Design with Vision
An ethic of forward-thinking, flexibility, and change is an inherent quality of the creative and learning process, and it is this ethic that pulses through design choices. This principle also speaks to a theme of time as learners look to the past for knowledge, pull it forward to the present, and create with or build onto it as they look to their future. Learners are in the process of becoming a vision of themselves, and thus learning experiences reflect the individualized nature of this goal and the possibilities it holds.
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Design with Clarity
An intentional effort to crystallize information so that it is easy to process for learners is both a core aesthetic and a functional goal of design. Learners engaged in the messy process of creativity and learning benefit from clear context, instructions, and guidance. Clarity in message design through the use of space and color is as important as the articulation of text and other modes of design and communication.