This chapter from the book Design Studies is called In Between: Challenging the Role of Graphic Design by Situating It in a Collaborative, Interdisciplinary Class. It talks about an interdisciplinary class at Northeastern in Illinois, and how GD figured in the mix. Students worked together to make Trace, an interactive piece to educate people about the Patriot Act. Chapter Author: Ann McDonald

Here’s the pdf: ann_mcdonald

One of the strengths of the class is that it taught students the importance of balancing the time spent planning and conceptualizing versus executing and realizing the collaborative work. This was possible because the class stretched over two semesters. (359)

“…collaborative authorship and group decision-making necessitated that design become a social practice.” (360)

“The instructors must act as facilitators of an undefined collective vision—they must steer, rather than lead.” (361)

“Individuals who were not performing  could not be fired and had to be brought back into the fold with a renewed sense of ownership, involvement, or a revised area of contribution. There was a constant need to bring issues to the surface so they could be articulated, visualized and acted upon or resolved.” (361)

“Students learned the resilience needed to stay involved, so that even when their individual ideas were discarded by the group, they were able to remain invested in the collective goal.” (365)

“The students and the Trace project would have benefited from increased use of formal design skills as a method of questioning.” (367)

The piece goes on to honestly evaluate the strengths and challenges of tackling an interdisciplinary class.