Multidisciplinary Design is about understanding a holistic approach to your creative skills. Rather than focusing on one specialty design field, you draw inspiration from multiple disciplines to boost your creative skills. 

In today’s world, designers find themselves boxed into narrow categories. We find ourselves defined by our specialities. We become entrenched in these silos and narrow our understanding of the larger creative picture. 

It can leave designers feeling stifled, uninspired, disconnected from other disciplines, and struggling to innovate. It can also lead to burnout from repetitive work, a lack of confidence to explore new ideas, and missed opportunities in their career.

At Nollie Design, we believe embracing a broader approach to design unlocks your full creative potential.

Building a Holistic Understanding of Design

We don’t need to look far to prove our point. A brief look at some of the greatest designers in history shows that they tackle a wide variety of creative projects. Many of the most influential designers were not confined to one discipline. These designers are still celebrated for their creativity, sometimes even centuries later (looking at you Leonardo Da Vinci!)

Instead of defining ourselves as Graphic designers, UX designers, Industrial designers or Fashion designers, what if we looked at each of these fields collectively to understand where these fields overlap and the transferable skills that come with this holistic approach?

Designers of the past could design everything from buildings down to the spoons used. We’re less skilled than designers 100 years ago, despite having better technology and far more access to information. How can it be, that in a digital world, we’re now less versatile than our 100-year-old counterparts? This feels like we’ve gone backwards.

Here at Nollie, our mission is to help you build the versatility you need to tackle different creative projects outside of your speciality or field of study, inspired by the multidisciplinary designers of the past.

What is Multidisciplinary Design?

Multidisciplinary Design is the understanding that creativity isn’t limited to one specialty, but instead about understanding how different fields of design connect and interact. 

Multidisciplinary Design has a bunch of different names around the world. In Japan it’s known as “Convergent Design”, In Germany “Gesamstkunstwerk” meaning total work of art, and you can also find it being called Interdisciplinary or Generalist Design. While theres tiny differences in their definitions, the overall goal is the same. Its about combining multiple disciplines to innovate.

Rather than narrowing into one subject, it’s about zooming out instead to understand the bigger picture. By understanding how different design fields interact with eachother, you can build a greater understanding of tackling complex problems and become a better designer.

At its core, multidisciplinary design is about collaboration and versatility. By combining knowledge from diverse areas of expertise, designers can tackle complex problems in ways that no single discipline could achieve alone. 

This method encourages the cross-pollination of ideas, adaptability, and a broader understanding of how various design fields interact. It is especially relevant in today’s interconnected world, where challenges often require a comprehensive and integrated approach to design.

At Nollie, we approach Multidisciplinary Design by mixing 12 different creative disciplines to help you build a larger picture of how these skills transfer and build upon each other, rather than work in isolation.

The History of Multidisciplinary Design

The term Multidisciplinary might seem like a new buzzword, but a multidisciplinary approach has existed for much longer than you may think…

Many of the most famous creative minds are celebrated because they can apply their creativity to multiple styles of projects:

• Almost every designer knows of the Bauhaus, but might not realise its enduring legacy comes from creating multidisciplinary designers and demonstrating “Gesamtkunstwerk” (not just primary colours and shapes). 

• Charles & Ray Eames are still thought of Design’s power couple and they worked on everything from furniture, products, architecture and even filmmaking.

• Leonardo DaVinci has been dead for over 5 centuries and we still consider him one of the world’s most creative minds because of his diverse range of creative work.

Being defined by your discipline is a very new concept in Design. Before designers considered themselves as craftspeople who were focused on building their craft over sticking to one field of creativity.

We have access to far more tools and information now. How can it be that in a digital age, we’re somehow less versatile than our historical counterparts? It doesn’t make sense. That’s why we started Nolle!

But it’s not just in the past, businesses and organisations are moving away from specialism in favour of those who can understand how things are interconnected. 

With the advancement of Artificial Intelligence we’re seeing a world rapidly changing before our eyes. The future of our industry has never been more uncertain, and we need to adapt to survive as an industry.

Discover Why the Future of Design is Multidisciplinary.

Who Can Become a Multidisciplinary Designer?

Multidisciplinary Design can sound incredibly overwhelming. It takes a lot of time to perfect one discipline, never mind several at once. However, becoming a multidisciplinary designer isn’t about mastering everything simultaneously – it’s about cultivating curiosity and building bridges between different areas of expertise.

The path to multidisciplinary design often starts with a strong foundation in one area, whether that’s visual design, fashion, or product development. From there, designers naturally begin to explore adjacent fields as they encounter real-world problems that demand broader solutions. 

For example, A Visual Designer could experiment with Motion Graphics to understand Animation. An Industrial Designer can learn Textiles to incorporate soft materials into their physical products opening the door into Fashion Design. Interactive Designers versed in Lighting Design create VR experiences that better mirror natural illumination, making virtual spaces feel more authentic and lived-in. 

The beauty of these crossovers is that they often happen naturally through project work and curiosity. Each new skill builds upon existing knowledge, creating unique combinations that can set a designer apart in their field.

The Multidisciplinary Designers of the past weren’t focused on ticking off every discipline, they were focused on their personal passions and expanding their creative skills.

What’s most important isn’t comprehensive expertise in every discipline, but rather:

• An open mindset that welcomes learning across boundaries
• The ability to recognize when a project could benefit from cross-disciplinary approaches
• Strong collaboration skills to work with specialists when deeper expertise is needed
• A systematic approach to problem-solving that can be applied across different domains (like the Design Process)

At Nollie, we want to be the resource that you use to help you guide you as you add to your creative skillset. 

Why We Need Multidisciplined Designers

In today’s interconnected and rapidly evolving world, the need for multidisciplinary designers has never been greater. 

The emergence of AI generation and the democratisation of design tools are opening the floodgates for people who are being introduced to design. While we love that more people are finding their passion for design, it needs to be met with an understanding of what makes good design. 

Access to tools is different from understanding how to use them to create an impactful design solution. It’s like how everyone has a smartphone camera, but it doesn’t instantly make you a professional photographer. But it does offer a new path to find your passion.

Now is the time to develop a larger creative skillset, and build your ability to adapt in a rapidly changing creative world. By focussing on a speciality, we are putting all our eggs in one basket in the face of creative disruption. 

By combining insights from different areas like graphics, interiors, digital design and more, designers are uniquely equipped to create innovative ideas that address the world’s increasingly complex problems. They can bridge the gaps between disciplines, ensuring that design outcomes are functional, aesthetically pleasing, and adaptable to diverse needs.

Businesses and industries require versatile thinkers who can navigate the intersections of design, technology, and human behaviour to develop products and services that resonate with people. 

Multidisciplinary designers not only foster innovation through cross-pollination of ideas but also offer the agility to adapt to shifting trends and diverse client requirements, making them invaluable in shaping the future of design.

Starting Your Multidisciplinary Design Journey

Being multidisciplinary doesn’t mean mastering every discipline, each takes practice and you need to put your reps in. However transitioning becomes easier as you grow your skillset. 

It’s like how guitarists could pick up a bass guitar and use their common knowledge to bridge a gap without any prior experience. They might not be the best bass player but could play a song or two. It works the same for design, the more you understand, the easier it becomes when moving from one creative project to another.

Being Multidisciplinary is about following your curiosity to find what your gaps in your knowledge are compared to where you want to go in your career or for your personal projects.

For context, I started my multidisciplinary journey as a Graphic Designer who worked in a Makerspace environment. I was introduced to 3D Printing, lasercutting and CNC machinery. It didn’t take long till I was able to create objects that helped me out in my day-to-day life, like 3D printing replacement car parts. 

I left to retrain in Industrial Design, but my Graphic background had a huge impact on how I presented my ideas and the aesthetics of my product designs. Now I’m developing my textile designs and I’ve found that I can learn using my previous experience to guide my perspective on learning new techniques.

Knowing the impact of having a multidisciplinary background is why I created Nollie, I know the impact it had for me and I want to help provide that for you. 

Let your curiosity drive you and realise that your creative potential isn’t limited to one speciality. Learn from those who know more and experiment with new techniques and tools.

We’ve made our Rudimentary Multidisciplinary Course FREE so that everyone can access Multidisciplinary Design. 

Conclusion

As we see the creative industries rapidly changing in front of our eyes, adaptability is key. We need more people who understand the transferable skills that transcend specific disciplines. It’s these designers that will shape the future.

Multidisciplinary Design is about understanding that creativity isn’t limited to one specialty. It’s about building about building your creative skillset to allow you to apply to different creative projects.

By embracing a multidisciplinary approach, you’re not just becoming a better designer – you’re preparing yourself for the complex challenges of tomorrow.

Start your journey today with our free course.

Join a community of designers breaking down the walls between disciplines.