Design expertise has seven levels

Design expertise can be considered as seven general “levels” of design expertise. Each of these seven levels of design practice “represent a different way of design thinking and comes with its own methods, its own critical skill set, and its own mode of reflection.”^[1]

1. Naïve designer (choice-based) – Design is done by ordinary people in everyday life. It is often based on choosing from a set of design solutions or emulating (copying) an earlier design.
2. Novice designer (convention-based – Explores what design is, and gets to know design as a series of activities that are organized in a formal process. The novice explores in order to discover the “rules of the game.”
3. Advanced beginner (situation-based) – Recognizes that design problems are highly individual and situated. At this level, design problems are considered to be less amenable to the use of standard solutions than they were at the novice level. The acquisition of a language for discussing and criticizing design distinguishes this state of expertise from the previous ones.
4. Competent designer (strategy-based) – Is one who can handle and understand all the common situations which occur within their design domain. Where the designer in the earlier stages of design-expertise development was essentially reacting to the problem situation, a competent designer actively steers the development of the design problem. As a result, the designer has much more control, allowing a design practice to develop depth over the course of several projects.
5. Expert designer (experience-based) – Is known for an approach or set of values that is expressed through his or her design work. This level of design practice is characterized by an implicit recognition of situations and a fluent, intuitive response.
6. Master designer – (developing new schemata) – Has taken their practice to a level of innovation that questions the established way that the experts work, and pushes the boundaries of the field. Such work is published (through pamphlets, reflective papers, interviews, etc.) for others to study.
7. Visionary designer (redefining the field) – Is explicitly aimed at redefining his or her design field. Visionaries express their radical ideas in design concepts, exhibitions, and publications rather than in finished designs.

#design #innovation

See also:

• Design practice can address open, complex, dynamic, networked challenges
• Design Thinking is innovating routinely
• Design thinking seeks to discover and solve the actual problem