Professor Harold Nelson, the 2009 – 2010 Nierenberg Chair, will present the Carnegie Mellon University School of Design’s 2009 Nierenberg Lecture on October 13. His talk, free and open to the public, is titled “The Design Way: Some Emerging Thoughts.”


Prof. Harold Nelson, 2009 – 2010 Nierenberg Chair of Design

In his presentation, Nelson will introduce two different approaches to design in an effort to initiate an ongoing dialogue among design colleagues, professionals, and students. He will explore the changes facing design education and the causes for such changes, and discuss the changing design competencies required of professionals and educators as design education continues to expand outside traditional disciplines and into new territory.

This dialogue begins with the question: “What is the nature of the changes coming to design education and praxis and what are the triggers for such changes”? Design scholarship continues pushing into new territory outside of the historic boundaries of modern design education and praxis. The world is changing dramatically and different competencies are required of design professionals and educators as a consequence. This is an opportune time to explore the breadth and depth of design’s potential—a time to explore the nature of design as a tradition of inquiry and action, distinct from the sciences and the humanities yet interdependent with them.

“The Design Way”
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
4:30 pm
Breed Hall, Margaret Morrison 103

The Nierenberg Chair of Design is a visiting professorship established through the generosity of the late Carnegie Mellon alumnus and emeritus life trustee Theodore D. Nierenberg, a founder of Dansk International Designs. The Nierenberg Chair enhances the vitality of the School of Design for students and faculty alike by encouraging dialogue on important issues of the field, exploration of contemporary forms of design practice, and research that affects future practice and understanding. The Nierenberg Chair is considered to be one of the most important and prestigious appointments in design education in the United States. Each year the Carnegie Mellon School of Design’s Nierenberg Chair presents a public lecture.

Posted on Oct 6, 2009