Design quotes from design educators

Design schools around the world use InVision as a learning tool. So after graduating, their students enter the workforce well-prepared for everything from kickoff to wireframing, to user testing and efficient handoff to developers.

We asked some of our favorite professors and lecturers who use InVision in their classrooms to share their thoughts on design. Here’s what the educators shaping the next generation of designers had to say.

The students create visual statements which are meant to inspire and at times provoke the viewer. Understanding language can be difficult in a foreign country, but intelligent, conceptual, and visually stimulating design translates universally.

—Paul Sheriff, Professor
Tyler School of Art, Temple University

In our increasingly connected and rapidly changing world, design is the reminder that our products and experiences should be purposeful and human-centered.

–David Slayden, Founder and Executive Director
BDW Designer Founder Accelerator
University of Colorado Boulder

Something I emphasize to my students is that even though the goal of design is to create an understandable and engaging interface, the process doesn’t start with a computer—or even with a pencil. The design process starts by getting to know the needs and expectations of your users.

–Craig MacDonald, Assistant Professor
Pratt Institute

We try to inculcate good UX design practice by providing a rich evidence base for students to work with. When prototyping, students choose which features and task flows they consider to be pivotal—and that leads to a host of great ideas for further testing and refinement.

–Paul Matthews, Senior Lecturer
University of the West of England

Design is just as much about meaningful relationships as it is about creativity. These relationships—to the client, audience, team members, technology, and other design tools—are a critical part of creating meaningful work.

–Cate Roman, Associate Professor
Woodbury University

When teaching mobile app design, I push my students to use the target market as a basis for all decisions regarding visual design, interactive design, and usability. My students should constantly ask themselves how a particular user group may interact with the subject matter, what type of navigation structure would best suit them, and how they can market the app in a way that appeals to their desired market.

–Jessa Wilcoxen, Associate Professor
Greenville College

When you focus on people’s needs and how they’re affected by a product or service, and then you work backwards from that understanding, design can be utilized to help users have more positive experiences.

–Natalie Stephenson, Graphic Design Instructor
Flagler College

The design process is a key component of our coursework as a method of problem-solving.

–Gregory Mar, former Director, School of Web Design + New Media
Academy of Art

We iterate like mad in our class because we know it’s going to take many rounds before we get it right. So it’s important that we use design tools that are powerful enough to give users a good sense of what a design might end up looking like but that are simple enough for us to make changes quickly and frequently.

–Jim Coyle, Professor
Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media Studies
Miami University

Communication and business professions require problem-solving ability, digital media competency, and creative thinking skills, which are all core to design disciplines and essential to innovation and economic development. Design is a problem-solving profession—with intersections in culture, society, commerce, and
the environment—that adds value and makes a difference.

–Karin Jager, Department Head, Graphic and Digital Design
University of the Fraser Valley

After teaching for 12 years, I’ve started to think of good design as a tenacious optimism: the belief that a better solution is just over the next hill—or cliff.

–Mike Wiggins, Chair of Art and Design Dept.; Associate Professor, Graphic Design
Abilene Christian University

Design by Hannah Bruce, student
Abilene Christian University

Good design is the result of asking good questions. My students questioned how users’ reading habits change for different media and responded by designing a branded news aggregator app. The interface design allows users to customize their experience by promoting content, marking favorites, sharing, and more.

–Isaac Gertman, Faculty Member
Maryland Institute College of Art
Design by Christina Kwiek, student