Making matters : addressing the inherent turbulence of being a designer

Summary: Design master students often focus on delivering creative, resourceful and unique ideas on the design problems at hand while encountering periods of uncertainty, such as dealing with stress, anxiety and depression. Additionally, some design practices do not propose to pause and wonder what will happen if students take time to explore and comprehend their emotions, as recognizing and understanding emotions is sometimes challenging. However, pursuing reflective practices could foster students’ confidence, facilitating self-expression and creativity. To explore this area, I conducted an immersive, exploratory action-research dialogue that questioned how design master students could nourish their emotional well-being under periods of uncertainty. The findings indicate that bringing emotions to a tactile form enables students to experience a sense of well-being and cultivate confidence.