the Design Village: Educating next generation of designers for social transformation

As the world keeps changing, designers must learn to anticipate, intervene and steer systems towards a more just and sustainable direction. To achieve this, we need to rethink not just the skills required but the very foundations of design education itself. The Design Village embodies a new vision for design education, advocating for a radical rethinking of how we prepare designers for an ever-changing landscape. This book serves as a living case, where Co-founders Mridu Sahai and Paul Hekkert draw on their decade-long experience establishing this pioneering school in India. Rather than simply adding courses aimed at impact, they propose different educational frameworks, pivoting towards values that matter in today’s world: how to become a villager. At the heart of this book are three guiding principles: Impact First, Pedagogy Centric, and Unreasonably Reciprocal. These address key aspects from breaking down silos to promoting collaboration among facilitators, learners and partners, all while fostering a shared commitment to social responsibility locally and globally. Through a combination of interviews and research-based essays rich with practical examples, you’ll explore how to instill key values like compassion and courage in learners, how to shift teaching from mastering fast-changing skills to critical self-direction, how to unlearn and challenge systemic assumptions, and how to create a multitude of learning environments. This book is for anyone who cares about design education. Whether you are a design school manager, an academic, a teacher or student of design, we trust you will enjoy the extraordinary journey of The Design Village. And like with every journey in life, you will learn on the way, invariably, by surrendering to the experience, stop at moments, turn inwards and move on.