This is without doubt the most inspiring, challenging and innovative suite of design projects that I have worked on in my 20+ years as a multidisciplinary designer. During the session I will tell the story of how the first 15 deaf sign language teachers in Northern Ireland developed their teaching skills to a high level through a multidisciplinary design process, creating 4 educational design innovations. With the help of the course team and interpreters, my role as creative director was to encourage collaboration and allow the groups to “listen, create and deliver”.
Easy enough … right?
What I was not ready for was the cultural shift and the silence. Breaking down the barriers took time and trust was not established until a suitable line of communication could be determined. #Deafculture was new to me and I needed to understand the community and prove my worth before I was accepted. Once this was in place the project began to flourish.
I feel lucky to have been introduced to a vibrant, creative community and the work we have completed to date will help teachers with sign language teaching, inform and educate students about sign language and introduce #deafculture to a new audience. I believe that multidisciplinary designers are uniquely positioned to deliver outcomes on UX design projects and this presentation will highlight how graphic design for print and screen, illustration, moving image, animation, AR, textile/tactile design and design entrepreneurship have brought this standard TEL (technology enhanced learning) module to a whole new level.
Padraig is focused on improving the student experience through the development of innovative and collaborative teaching and learning methods. He is a practicing multidisciplinary designer with specialisms in graphic design, UX, moving image and digital storytelling.