Photo by Liane Metzler / Unsplash

Mixed media, architecture, industrial design, and object design are just a few of the common disciplines within design. While each field contains their own unique set of elements, disciplinary boundaries don’t dictate how design processes should be exclusively conducted.

By not choosing a concentration, designers don’t have to limit the scope of their studies by staying within the constraints imposed by the framework of each specialization. Through utilizing this approach and exercises that engage cross-disciplinary thinking, they can build their practice based on lines of questioning that intersect through multiple areas of design.

Concepts are imagined as smaller parts of a collective rather than single ideas independent of each other. This structure is a useful way for designers to inform their methodology and learn how to develop individualized design practices.

In the interview below, Making Meaning instructor and Parsons & Charlesworth studio co-founder Tim Parsons sits down with French designer Matali Crasset, who’s known for her interdisciplinary work in industrial design, household products, and building projects.


This content comes from Making Meaning: An Introduction to Designing Objects, Part I. Enroll in the course for free below:

Making Meaning: An Introduction to Designing Objects, Part I

Making Meaning: An Introduction to Designing Objects, Part I

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

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