Design Education in Brazil: History, Critic and New Approaches for Design Innovation

The present work was performed in two parts, divided into a desk research and a field research. In the desk research, a study was conducted regarding didactic theories with emphasis on the constructivist approach. Then, a survey was carried out related to the development of design methodologies from the twentieth century to the present day, with emphasis in design thinking and systemic thinking development. In sequence, this study discussed the design education around the world. To this end, a number of cases presenting a differential in design education were analyzed. In the desk research, the contextualization of the problem was addressed, a study of Brazil in relation to its general characteristics and its characteristics related to design and design education, with focus on the Design School from UEMG. In the field research, a case study was realized at the Design School of UEMG (Brazil), aiming to verify the feasibility of application of new approaches and techniques researched and to raise features that should be adapted to the local context. At the end, a set of tools and approaches were presented considering that they can be employed in the university to induce students and professors to a new posture, leading to a new teaching model, more open, fluid and dynamic, prioritizing humanistic values in favor of the man, the community and the environment. In this way, it is hoped that the new professionals are able to have a contextualized and systemic performance, enhancing local identity, preserving resources, culture and still unveiling new possibilities of action for new designers.