The competence of a successful designer

Turtola, Niina; Määttä, Kaarina

Abstract

The designer’s practice is subject to ever-increasing demands in the accelerating transformations and complexities of our time. A designer's competence requires continuous renewal and realignment, yet it contains several permanent qualities. The purpose of this article is to create a holistic picture of the competence of a successful designer. This article shows how a designer's competence is constructed of four factors: cognitive, social, emotional, and functional. Cognitive factors include several characteristics required for design thinking, especially creativity, and the ability to produce new insights and the ability to cope with uncertainty. Design is a social process, where interaction skills and the ability to collaborate are crucial in a co-design approach to collective creativity. The designer's positive feelings, attitudes and enthusiasm promote design thinking, problem-solving and innovation. Functional factors, such as good knowledge and skills, are essential tools for the development of the design. These promote the designer's work satisfaction and well-being. The success of a designer requires multi-faceted competence, and success does not only depend on personal characteristics. Success is influenced by the environment in which the designer works. A good atmosphere of the work community, support and encouragement promotes success for all parties involved in the design process.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 17, 2023
• Online Publication Date: May 29, 2023
• Publication Date: May 29, 2023
• Deposit Date: May 31, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: May 31, 2023
• Journal: International Journal of Business and Management
• Print ISSN: 2336-2197
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 32-49
• Series ISSN: 2336-2197
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.20472/BM.2023.11.1.003
• Keywords: designer, competence, success, skills
• Publisher URL: https://iises.net/international-journal-of-business-management/publication-detail-116990