If Everybody Designs, What Makes A Designer?

Professional designers or professionals that (also) design?

Design is becoming increasingly important in higher professional education and practice. Professionals need not only research skills to understand complex issues, but also design skills to imagine and develop appropriate courses of action. As Herbert Simon observed, “Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones.”

For professional designers—such as architects and product, fashion and multimedia designers—design forms the core of their professional identity and expertise. For professionals who design—such as doctors, policymakers and entrepreneurs—it is primarily a tool or methodology for addressing challenges and achieving goals, often referred to as design thinking.

Four complementary perspectives

Universities of applied sciences educate both professional designers and professionals who design. This makes it increasingly important to examine the role, significance and implications of design in education. NADR aims to map the diversity of perspectives, practices and tensions surrounding this topic through four analytical lenses:

Perspective 1: Blurred lines—design as professional identity?
Perspective 2: Applied Design Research—a win-win for students and researchers?
Perspective 3: Design-Based Education—design as an educational process?
Perspective 4: Design with impact—what is really accomplished?

Who should attend?

- Authors of accepted NADR 2026 contributions. At least one author from each of the 26 contributions will attend.
- Designers, researchers, educators and partners interested in design education and the changing role of the designer.