Introduce Design Art and Thinking at Foundational Stage: Special on International Design Day

International Design Day, April 27, coordinated by International Council of Design (ICod), celebrates creativity, innovation, and visual culture. The observance focuses on how design art changes our world and visual communication style. This year the focua is on use of design art creating and human-centric solutions.

Design art bridges the divide between aesthetics and functionality. In contrast to fine art, which conveys an artist's personal vision, design art addresses specific challenges. It merges beauty with practicality, employing color, shape, and logic to convey messages or enhance everyday experiences. This is where imagination intersects with tasks that require completion. It incorporates graphics as a component of design arts, utilizing visual symbols and icons.

Currently, design art-based illustrative posters are trending because they utilize graphics and icons for straightforward visual communication. Additionally, STEM education is benefiting from this approach. Design art and design thinking are increasingly recognized as essential components of 21st-century skills. Science educators can enrich the learning experience by incorporating design art, promoting creativity while solidifying technical concepts. Teachers can help students to create sketch notes fot both graphics-based design art inputs both for cognitive and non-cognitive gains.

To evoke interest in design art at the foundational education, pattern design are suitable that combine simple repetition to help kids explore fundamental art principles like rhythm, balance, and texture through pattern filling of sketches. From drawing repetitive doodles to using nature finds for printing, these projects are designed to be low-pressure and highly engaging preliminary design art orientation. Some suggestive activities at the pre-primary level are related to to hand trace patterns, water-colour resistance art with designs with crayons or wax for hidden patterns and nature stamping with dipped leaves or cut vegetables like lady fingers.