Design education in the university: a philosophical and socio-economic inquiry

Life and work in the global knowledge economy demands more of education than has ever been required in human history. At first, what is now called design education took place in the apprentice tradition of the artisan craft guilds. When formal and informal schools for craft or art developed, they took a central role in design education. Some of these became schools of art and design. In nations where design was taught outside the apprentice tradition, these were the primary centers of professional design and craft education until recently. Over the past five decades, however, design education moved into the university.