Craft is regarded as unique form of skilled making. Central to this concept is that craft includes the means of visualising and exploring a goal, rather than merely being the means of achieving it. This focus on exploration as important and future oriented learning approach is also promoted by a program new ‘spaces for exploration and learning’ – launched by the Association for the Promotion of Humanities and Sciences in Germany (2019). Similarly, the implementations of this concept of craft are so called ‘maker days’ in Switzerland, e.g. Zurich Maker Days 2019. They underline the relevance of craft as creative problem-solving approach for society, which helps identifying and reinterpreting problems across varies groups. Typically, maker days include a great variety of kids’ activities that promote these competences also at primary school level. This stands in sharp contrast to primary school curriculum development: pressured by a policy focus on digitalisation, primary schools in Switzerland are typically encouraged to favour IT- over craft-based competences. Craft-based design competences appear to have little educational value at primary school level in the information centred age. As a consequence, we lack institutionalised formats to raise awareness for craft-based design competences as creative problem-solving for society at primary school pupils. The project therefore pilots new formats, which aim raising awareness for design at different school levels, together with the local government and a local school.

STITCH-ED Piloting craft-based design competences as creative problem-solving approach

STITCH-ED is a collaboration between the Competence Centre for Design & Management (CCDM), of the Lucerne School of Art and Design (LUASA), and National Institute of Design (NID), funded by Movetia. It builds on the outcomes and academic relationships that emerged from an earlier seed-money project on craft and design for social innovation, which was supported by the Swiss Leading House South Asia and Iran, mandated by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education Research and Innovation (SERI). Both projects were realised within the joint initiative of the LUASA and the NID, the “Craft Design Research Lab”.

On the one hand STITCH-ED drew on the long standing craft tradition in India to better understand ways of craft as design strategy for Swiss schools. On the other hand, the Swiss design education context and experience was made available to Indian educators by ways of concrete project collaboration.

STITCH-ED also closely collaborated with the city of Emmen, Switzerland. For Emmen the project was an opportunity to help building new relations among diverse actors in the city of Emmen. It also represented an opportunity to help generating innovation in the educational sector and will serve as model case for other institutions in the Canton Lucerne.

STITCH-ED perused the following objectives:

  • STITCH-ED built bridges between two different types of schools (primary school and University). STITCH-ED therefore also provided an entrance point to non-traditional design contexts where craft can be a design strategy.
  • STITCH-ED tested and documented design teaching formats in primary schools through concrete design workshop. The action-based approach allowed engaging with future design talents and it allowed to introduce them to design skills and design culture an early stage in their school career.
 
  • STICH-ED inspired a debate on creativity and design in primary schools, through workshops, public exhibition and public podium discussion – in India and Switzerland.

Exchange activities:

  • The online exchange included the following elements: Skype, Google Docs, and WhatsApp channel: Regular Skype exchanges served to prepare the collaboration and discuss project results. Google Docs was used to share images and documents from the workshops. WhatsApp helped sharing inspiring results or discuss questions concerning workshops, or travel plan.
  • The Corona situation in Europe and India forced us to rely on online exchanges, as we had to cancel the project meeting in Lucerne. We included Zoom Video-Meetings and agreed on developing a project website to share and evaluate insights across both project teams.

Project time-line: September 2019 till December 2020

  • Sept. – Nov. 2019: LUASA Workshops, public exhibition and public podium with experts from business, research and local authorities
  • Nov. 2019 – Jan 2020: NID Workshops and feedback from teachers
  • March 2020: Online research seminar with involved lecturers from both NID and LUASA (stand in for planed research Seminar at LUASA premisses)
  • April – June 2020: Development of project website enabling to share our insights across both project teams and to evaluate them with members of the advisory board
  • June – Oct. 2020: Feedback on project results from advisory board
  • Jan/Feb 2021: Final Movetia project report

Visit the team page for more information on the project team