DESIGN THINKING
Our Need to Belong Shapes
the Design of Our Belongings
In Japan, omamori function somewhat like good luck charms, and are made to appeal to all kinds of groups.
The tiny leather backpacks here are for schoolchildren; each color represents a different grade level.
Marty Rayala
Consider the following lesson idea: Ask students to iden- tify the many communities to which they belong and
make a visual representation of the
groups, key members of each group,
and their relationships—family, classmates, teams and clubs, online social
networks, summer camp friends, etc.
Have students represent their relationship to each group visually through
words, drawings, photographs, or a
collage.
logos and posters; physical objects like
particular clothing and accessories;
significant spaces and places such as
shopping malls and their rooms; and
experiences like afterschool activities
and hanging out together.
lead with innovative ideas, we run the
risk of turning into a “sheepwalker”—
someone who fights to protect the
status quo at all costs, never asking if
obedience is doing us or our tribe any
good.
The Need to Belong
Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs places “belonging” just above
our physiological needs and our need
for safety. The concept of belonging is
particularly powerful in students and
impacts their ability to form emotionally significant relationships in later
life.
Students need to feel a sense of
belonging and, in order to attain a
feeling of acceptance, they carefully
select visual images such as popular
The Courage to Be Unique
The powerful need to belong can be
a problem when teachers challenge
students to be
creative. For
many students
the need to fit in
is stronger than
their courage to be unique. One of
the first steps is to help students realize the extent to which they design
themselves, and that their choices are
influenced by the norms of the groups
to which they belong.
Seth Godin calls groups of people,
large or small, who are connected
to one another “tribes.” In his book,
Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
(Portfolio Hardcover, 2008), Godin
says that if we ignore opportunities to
Continued on page 45.
How We Design Ourselves
Looking at magazine images, old
photos, or films is a good way to help
students see that
the way they
look, dress, fix
their hair, and
the things they
own today are like a time capsule that
indicates where and when they are liv-
ing. It is easy to identify the particular
look of images from the 60s, objects
from the 70s, places from the 80s, or
experiences from the 90s. It will be
just as easy for people in the future
to look back and identify where and
when we are from today by the way
we design ourselves and our surround-
ings.
Ironically, the look of a generation
For many students the need
to fit in is stronger than their
courage to be unique.
