GloWD. Design and Future. Globally We Design

Globally We Design (GloWD) believes the future is now. We are an independent global design leadership network and design futures activator. Positioned at the frontier of progressive design, GloWD leads through proactive research-based creative preparedness.

Grounded in collaboration, we believe we can envision a new time-appropriate, healthy world, which supports balanced and connected communities.

Acknowledging the scale and multitude of today’s global challenges, GloWD was established some 5 years ago to rethink design, its education, practice and culture.

GloWD efforts place designers and creatives at the forefront of providing transformative, impactful solutions - an understanding as supported by many world governments who project the creative industries as a strong economic driver into the future. Since design is ubiquitous and requires a team effort to materialize, shared knowledge through borderless connections for collaborative world efforts are an imperative for our collective success. We believe that with rapidly changing world circumstance, for designers to be a part of the solution, we need to update our existing processes for both design practice and its education.

This requires new knowledge and methods. Therefore, GloWD’s starting point is education, the foundation of smart, creative, disciplined thinking.

To counter the prevalence of predictable and regurgitated outcomes, GloWD’s uniquely inclusive, diversified and leading-edge programs are constructed to harness creative potential and power, both
for individuals and as a group. We engage the shared and combined intelligence and experience to reach for supportive collective solutions. To do this, we judiciously assemble teams, provide them with structured parameters, guidance and tools that allow for independent team explorations, leading to fresh discovery, new connections, and otherwise unforeseen realizations.

Current GloWD programs include our annual ReDesignEd Educators Forum and GEL-Lab (Global Experimental Live-Lab) Design Studio. The Forums are two-to-threeday intensive gatherings designed to provoke, inspire and collaboratively rethink design education. Distinguished international educators and leadership, from diverse reputable institutions or leading programs, are convened to define new educational parameters to help shape the basis for a global and foundational design pedagogy. With each Forum we commit to achieving applicable results for all participants and the broader design community.

To date, these include the Universal Design Education Charter — GloWD UDEC (Singapore, 2018) and The Johannesburg Declaration (South Africa, 2019).

The GloWD GEL-Lab Design Studio is structured to engage our network of institutions and their select students for a multi-disciplinary, multi-national and multi-cultural experience.

Faced with new approaches and challenges, faculty and students, require open minds and adventurous spirits. The four-to-six-week GELLab studio is lodged inside each institutions existing, required studio structure and fosters a focus on self-awareness and teamwork.

It sharpens communication skills, cultivates personal work ethic for reliability and timely delivery of results. Working internationally across time zones, language competencies, cultures, experiences, interpretations and skill sets, the GEL-Lab nurtures collegiality for immersive and fun engagement, while delivering smart design
solutions.

With industry and practice, GloWD has plans to enact global partnerships for applied results. We believe that these initiatives and goals can only be achieved through wide, purposeful participation with and within the design world at large. We invite you to join us to re-envision and help shape an improved world and better future. Design can transform the world. Let’s do it together.

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