Shaping Cross-Sector Leaders Through Design Leadership
When discussing design, the conversation often extends beyond aesthetics—it touches on how design can play a central role across various social, cultural, and even political sectors. Design thinking itself encompasses a mindset that is not solely focused on artistic decisions but on crucial functions in everyday life. Stemming from the belief that design can evolve into a multidisciplinary practice and occupy a position in diverse societal choices, the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) introduced a new master's program in August 2023. This program, named Design Leadership, aims to cultivate leaders across various fields through a design-driven approach. Grafis Masa Kini spoke with Prananda Luffiansyah Malasan, one of the program's initiators, to delve deeper into this program and its tangible impact on society.
The need for ITB's Design Leadership program emerged in late 2022. According to Prananda, the idea for this program originated from a multidisciplinary approach—cross-departmental practices within the campus. “We collaborated with the School of Architecture, Planning, and Policy Development (SAPPK) to establish this program. While it is hosted by the Faculty of Art and Design (FSRD), our collaboration spans various disciplines,” he explained. This program diverges from conventional design education, which focuses on object creation. Prananda and his team aim to leverage design thinking, which focuses on problem-solving and innovation, to address complex issues like poverty, natural disasters, and flooding. “We want our graduates to bring about real change in tackling major issues,” he stated. Looking more broadly, Prananda highlighted that design already plays a crucial role in community environments on a global scale. Sharing his experience in 2022, Prananda recounted, “I attended a forum of several universities in the field of art and design in Japan. During the conference, we discussed how art and design education can solve highly complex problems because today many art and design graduates don’t just work in their field. For instance, a Ph.D. graduate from Musashino Art University went on to become the CEO of Bank of America,” Prananda said. The central roles occupied by design graduates in various parts of the world served as a reference in building the Design Leadership program.
As the name suggests, Design Leadership aims to produce leaders who can act as agents of change across sectors, including business, creative industries, and government. “Design naturally never stands alone. Design always collaborates with other fields,” said Prananda. Therefore, this program emphasizes the importance of working across disciplines and stakeholders. Leadership education is also a key focus of the program. Prananda stressed that to work across disciplines and impart the same spirit to people from various fields, a strong sense of leadership is required. “What we often overlook is the leadership aspect because to work across disciplines and spread the same spirit to people from different fields, you need a strong leadership mindset,” Prananda remarked. Therefore, the program incorporates leadership development through mentoring with renowned figures, both domestically and internationally. “Students don’t get much theory in class; instead, they meet with key figures or go into the field to work on projects with the community using a participatory approach,” he explained. For example, the first batch of students in this program began their studies with a session at NuArt in Bandung, where they received mentoring from Nyoman Nuarta and Eisuke Tachikawa, CEO of Nosigner. “Coincidentally, Eisuke Tachikawa, the CEO of Nosigner, was in Bandung at that time. We invited him to mentor the students as well. Eisuke doesn’t claim to be a designer or architect but positions himself as a design strategist because much of his practice is close to politics, and now climate change issues,” Prananda said. Through mentoring with Eisuke Tachikawa, students learned how design approaches can be a medium for collaboration with various experts to tackle climate issues with innovations that are adaptive to the environment. In learning activities held at least twice a month, students study leadership characteristics through a design approach—keeping in mind that technical design lessons should be knowledge acquired during undergraduate studies.
The ITB Design Leadership program's curriculum is 70% focused on FSRD and 30% on SAPPK. At FSRD, students learn design theory and community development, while at SAPPK they study policy analysis and the management of natural, social, political, and cultural resources. “We want them to be able to see problems more broadly, not just from a design perspective but also from political and social viewpoints. Additionally, I noticed that at SAPPK, they learn about policy analysis while simultaneously being given specific case studies and having to debate,” Prananda said. Students are also assigned practical tasks that challenge them to develop real solutions for societal problems. For instance, the program collaborates with UNHCR and the University of the Arts London on a project to assist refugees in Indonesia. Design Leadership students design modules to help refugees envision their future goals and foster hope amidst their displacement. Another practical example is when some Design Leadership students worked on developing a kite-making village in Padalarang. “Almost all the kites are made there. There’s a desire to brand the village as a kite village, organize activities, and eventually encourage regeneration with the idea that ‘making kites is cool, and making kites can also sustain a living,’” Prananda explained.
Despite the program offering numerous opportunities, Prananda and his colleagues faced challenges during its establishment. One of the biggest challenges was convincing ITB's internal stakeholders of the program's importance. “Convincing our colleagues in the arts field was quite difficult, but after one semester and the real projects started showing results, this program has now become a flagship,” Prananda stated. Additionally, the diversity of students remains a challenge to this day. Currently, the Design Leadership program is still dominated by design graduates. “We want to open opportunities for non-design individuals to study here to enhance the diversity of learning among students,” he added. Nevertheless, great expectations are placed on the program's graduates. “We hope our graduates can bring about change in various regions, not only in major cities but also in remote areas,” Prananda said. He added that students' final projects are expected to have a tangible impact on society. “(We hope) that in 10 years, these Design Leadership graduates will hold central or strategic positions in their respective institutions. Perhaps by the tenth batch, we’ll see some who have become Director Generals, CEOs; certainly, we want to produce leaders, change-makers.”
Prananda emphasized that in many countries, design has played a central role in various practices, including government policy, and now it is time to view design as more than just aesthetics. In some countries, like the United Kingdom and Singapore, design has been recognized as a crucial element in developing national policies and strategies. For example, the UK established the Design Council in 1944, post-World War II, with the goal of using design as a tool to drive economic growth through industrial innovation. The government at that time understood that to rebuild and develop a strong industry, design had to play a central role. Meanwhile, in Singapore, the National Design Centre serves as an advisor to the government, including the Prime Minister and other ministers, in developing policies that can bring positive change to people's lives. Design firms like Ideo have become key partners for the government in formulating policies across various ministries in Singapore. Another example is Nosigner, which now advises Japan's Minister of the Environment on formulating policies for development that are adaptive to social and cultural environments. In the past, such positions might have been filled by experts from non-design disciplines, but now designers are also recognized for their strategic roles in decision-making. This shift is also seen in international design organizations, such as the World Design Organization, formerly known as the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). While their focus used to be more limited to industrial and economic development, they now have a broader vision of how design can enhance the quality of life for people and the environment as a whole. This indicates a paradigm shift where design is no longer just about objects and aesthetics but has become an instrument for achieving broader social change.
“In essence, design is everywhere. Design is not just in the industrial sector; it must be present in culture, economy, politics, health, agriculture, and more. Fundamentally, design thinking is not exclusive to designers or artists, but something everyone should consider because everyone needs to be aware of a problem and its solution. The direction of design knowledge or understanding must indeed shift from being focused solely on aesthetics and function to eventually tapping into issues of morality, ethics, and broader societal change,” Prananda asserted.
To hold positions across sectors, designers need to possess knowledge and skills beyond the technical. They must understand political dynamics, be able to lobby, and formulate effective policies—abilities that are rarely taught in conventional design curricula. This is the main focus of the Design Leadership program at ITB. Students in this program are not only equipped with design skills but are also exposed to the process of policy-making, understanding surrounding issues, and how to influence decision-making at higher levels. The Design Leadership program is an effort to create leaders who can drive change through design, not only in the creative world but also in society as a whole.
