Introduction

Documentation for Designers is a blueprint of an undergraduate course that helps students hone process documentation and self-reflection skills. The class is an invitation for students to step away from the work they produce in their other studio classes and to critically consider it through a variety of media and approaches to storytelling. By designating and consecrating a creative space for reflection, Documentation for Designers allows undergraduate students a chance to think deeply about how their work connects to their personal histories and the wider world itself.

In addition to developing and delivering the Documentation for Designers curriculum in Fall Quarter of 2021, I conducted a preliminary research study on the course’s efficacy. Through qualitative analysis of students’ written reflections throughout the quarter, I’ve identified a number of key considerations for design educators interested in facilitating similar experiences: namely, the importance of creating a safe learning environment, the importance of distinguishing between types of reflection, and the importance of engaging with words.

A short film that captures the Documentation for Designers course experience, featuring footage + audio from class as well as student assignments.

Part 1: curriculum + facilitation

Learning outcomes

In Documentation for Designers — Fall 2021, students immersed themselves in many different media strategies (images, audio, video, writing, and more) while exploring new ways to tell the story of their work. Focused on process and exploration rather than on product and craft, the course was a dedicated space for students to pause, play, and reflect on work done in other classes while dreaming about work they'd like to do in the future.

Students were invited to:

critically explore the potentials of different media forms (photos, audio, video, writing, and more) in relationship to the story of their work
complete short, low-stakes exercises to develop basic proficiencies in photography, audio, video, writing, and more (skills later useful in creating things like podcasts, video reels, portfolios, and websites)
iteratively develop a written designer's statement
journal, reflect on, and evaluate their own positionalities as designers, as well as their experience in the course overall

Pedagogical frameworks

The Documentation for Designers framework was built on two main models of design and learning: theories of reflection-in-action and design hermeneutics. In incorporating reflection at different scales — from project to portfolio — the class encouraged students to reflect both inward on their process and outward on the world that shapes it.