About the Brand
What defines a designer? Is it the tools they use, the way they use them, a mindset, or something else entirely? The answer lies not just within each individual designer, but rather the field as a whole and how it crucially overlaps with the world of STEM in ways that most wouldn’t realize. Designers must understand many concepts of psychology and philosophy in order to produce an effective design that speaks for itself. In a college setting, they take the same basic undergraduate classes and attain the same baseline level of knowledge that everyone else is required to, graduating with a well-rounded education just the same as any other major would.
Yet designers are often singled out from the rest of the academic world, and many view a degree in the arts as less useful than a more scientific or business-oriented degree. What is the origin of this stigma, and how do we challenge it? Design For the Mind (DFTM) is a series of conferences and workshops that intend to solve this issue. Structured to fit a wide variety of fields, as well as different learning styles, DFTM’s goal is to bridge the gap that has been established between STEM and the arts in academia.
Concept Collage
Onliness Factors
What: The only design-focused conference with multiple interactive, hands-on sessions
How: that combines two seemingly opposite fields
Who: for designers and scientists
Where: in Texas
Why: who want to understand the human brain from a range of perspectives
When: in an era where STEM and the arts are deeply divided in academia.
Our educational conference sessions are the only design events that bridge the gap between STEM fields and the arts.
Identity Basics
Brand Goals
An artistic lens is crucial to a well-rounded education, and many STEM majors seem to dismiss it as a non-important factor that doesn’t affect their work process. DFTM aims to help display the fundamental connections between these two “opposite” educational paths through multiple lenses. Using real-world examples, interactive workshop sessions, and expert speakers from both sides of the divide, attendees will be guided towards developing deeper critical thinking, more collaborative attitudes, and a mutual understanding of how STEM cannot exist without the arts. To paraphrase Yo-Yo Ma’s essay Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education, which further elaborates on this topic— STEM may be a start, but STEAM is what ultimately powers the human machine.
