Just knowing how to design is not enough. Today, a designer must understand sustainability and how design can impact user experience, cultural norms, and, sure, the world at large. Great design—whether a product, packaging, platform, place, or policy—pushes boundaries, not just in form and function but also in creating a more sustainable world.

The Middle East needs such designers—badly. To put it into perspective, engineers, project managers, and other team members vastly outnumber designers by 50 to one. 

At least a dozen design schools are trying to address that shortcoming, training the next wave of designers who mesh well with tech teams, can shape the strategy behind a product, and advocate for sustainable practices.

LATERAL THINKING TO INCREASE INNOVATION

“All the world, the Middle East, needs more designers,” says Mohammad Abdullah, President of the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI). “The world we inhabit today is a product of left-brain thinking, most expressed through reliance and celebration of STEM-based education. We desperately need synthetic problem solving and lateral thinking to increase innovation and more ethical solutions to address the multitiered complexity of our universe.”

According to the World Economic Forum, designers’ essential skills—creativity, critical thinking, and complex problem solving—are crucial for success in a rapidly changing world.

Abdullah adds that the DIDI curriculum merges visual literacy with technological fluency and strategic proficiency. “Design thinking creates life skills that ensure youth work ethically and sustainably.”  

“Combining creativity with technology and strategy, our students learn how to conceptualize, communicate, and craft complex solutions, and they do so with sincere empathy and care.”

This is design education 2.0.

It’s important to note that designers do more than just enhance aesthetics; they generate solutions. For instance, they can use design thinking to tackle climate change challenges or create self-sustaining structures, incorporating elements that help reduce carbon footprints.

In the Middle East, designers are perfectly positioned to implement responsible design practices and evangelize circular economy principles that some countries, like the UAE, seek to promote. 

HUMANIZE TECHNOLOGY

“Design is one of the most relevant disciplines in the age of AI. More so if we wish to humanize technology to improve the world,” says Abdullah.

Abdullah adds that instead of throwing money at a problem or applying the latest technology, designers should start with a holistic understanding of the problem and its impact on the community and context. 

“Think of EVs and the impact of lithium mining today, an ever-expanding challenge to the sustainability of our Earth. Or the case where rocket engineers at NASA developed the Skylab in the 1970s, and it took a designer, Raymond Loewy, to convince them to add a window in the spaceship so that the astronauts could gaze at Earth whenever they felt homesick. This is what we mean by humanizing technology, and in fact, the first thing the astronauts expressed on their return was how ‘spectacular’ it was to look out at our home planet and how grounding it was for them as they floated alone in outer space.”

Design is constantly evolving, and technology is accelerating, says Khadija Al Bastaki, Senior Vice President of Dubai Design District, part of TECOM Group. “Disruptive technologies like AI, virtual reality and Web3 are transforming how designers create, innovate and collaborate.”

Last year, a whitepaper launched by TECOM Group, Dubai Media City, found that the emerging digital creative economy is predicted to reach over $7 trillion by 2030. The paper outlines the role emerging technology and sustainability will play in the future of design. 

“Businesses have much to gain from this in terms of efficiency and value creation, but it requires agility, talent upskilling, and strategic investment,” adds Al Bastaki.

DEVELOP USER EXPERIENCES

The consequence of the region’s shortage of designers is that tech teams can build the guts of products and platforms, but they might not be created with a pleasant user experience in mind.

Most innovative solutions come from looking at the problem with empathy and depth, says Abdullah.

Globally, there are product design-led companies such as Apple, Kia, Audi, Muji, Xiaomi, and IKEA; however, Abdullah adds that the most impactful are those that develop user experiences, whether digital or physical, in service or strategic design. 

“These have the most impact because they are holistic approaches to solving everyday challenges, from governmental processes (think of how you can renew your license in the UAE today), social issues, such as aging and designing for people of determination, to physical challenges, like bringing water to distant villages…”

“Design is a central practice in defining user experiences through thoughtful planning, understanding customer behavior, and solving problems creatively,” adds Al Bastaki. “Collaboration can enhance end-products and integrate more inclusivity, personalization, and efficiency.” 

FROM BACKROOM TO BOARDROOM

Most importantly, every business needs designers who are also technologists, strategists, sustainability advocates, and more. Why? They don’t want “one-trick ponies” anymore.

Clearly, designers can no longer be marginalized in companies.

“Successful companies long understood that bringing designers into the decision-making process improves their bottom line and customer loyalty,” says Abdullah. 

In fact, design-led companies perform financially better and typically have significantly more return customers and long-term loyalty.

“So if you wish to have a successful business, move the designers from the backroom to the boardroom,” says Abdullah. “Steve Jobs understood this in 1998. On his return to Apple, one of the first things he decreed was that all their products were to be driven by design first and not engineering. What is Apple’s valuation today? And that is why Kia is among the top car companies today: in 2008, they brought in Peter Schreyer, head of design at Audi, to become a key strategist in defining the character and personality of the brand.”

However, because our society and education systems are biased towards quantitative approaches, most businesses can still not measure qualitative solutions, where design impact is mostly felt.

“Designers are the key to amassing value and customer loyalty. Maybe this is the best-kept open secret of business. It simply requires a shift in the mindset and a re-education of business leadership,” says Abdullah.

According to Al Bastaki, designers are becoming increasingly vital to “business competitiveness and resilience, even in other sectors such as healthcare, education and real estate.”

She adds that businesses must promote closer collaboration between tech and design teams to tap new revenue and value streams emerging amid digital transformation and leverage opportunities in the digital creative economy. 

The power of design to propel the region forward has always been immense; today, it is also a responsibility. 

DO WE NEED MORE DESIGN SCHOOLS?

Al Bastaki says designers in the region have an incredible opportunity to shape the future and push the boundaries of what’s possible, adding that the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation, FAD Dubai, and L’ÉCOLE School of Jewelry Arts—all at the Dubai Design District, are critical in spearheading the creative economy and driving long-term economic growth. 

 “Regional designers have access to so many incredible opportunities, and we are seeing exciting design talent move into the Dubai market, too,” says Al Bastaki. 

So, how can the region train its next design generalists in the age of design? Do we need more design schools?

“To ensure we raise the innovation index in our society, we need more designers. We also need to reform the way we teach design. We need to hybridize design education to ensure every designer has the skills of an entrepreneur,” says Abdullah.

He adds that if we create more design schools without understanding how the world is rapidly changing or if we continue to teach the new generation using old methods, then we should not open new academies.

“We call on all universities to break down the silos between disciplines and allow cross-pollination of ideas. The more lateral and visual thinkers we produce, the more innovation we will see in the world.”

“Another way to look at it is to introduce design thinking methods into all disciplines and colleges,” adds Abdullah.

Delve deeper into human-centered and purpose-driven design, how AI is revolutionizing product design, designing the future of tourism, and more at the Innovation By Design Summit, partnered with Msheireb Properties, in Doha on May 21. Attendance at the Innovation by Design Summit is by invitation only. Delegates can register here to receive their exclusive invite.