In order to understand the current stage of design education and to be able to plan its future and steer it towards new directions with larger and more positive impact we need to understand its origins and the factors that have influenced its evolution into what we know today as design education.

This compendium is the result of a collaboration between UK based DATA together with Loughborough University's Design Education Research Group. It showcases unique and key papers from critical thinkers from the 70's and 80's such as British mechanical engineer and later Professor of Design Research at the Royal College of Art Bruce Archer CBE and former RCA and Loughborough University Professor Phil Roberts.