Design inspires swirling dialogues: from city branding practices to rethinking collaborative learning in design education

Abstract As the role of design expands into public policy, governance, and civic life, there is a growing need to rethink design pedagogy, viewing it not merely as a technical discipline but as a field responsible for cultivating civic capacity, fostering critical dialogue, and supporting sustained public engagement. Yet much of design pedagogy still emphasizes problem-solving approaches. As designers increasingly transition from the role of problem solvers to that of facilitators and collaborators, it is essential to ask how they can engage diverse publics in sustained co-creative processes, particularly within the context of wicked, systemic challenges that characterize contemporary public life. This study introduces a swirling dialogue framework that examines how designers actively shape interactions among people, products, networks, and power hierarchies with a participatory and civic learning process of city branding. It demonstrates how design knowledge can foster sustained dialogue and collective reflection among diverse stakeholders, which is critical for building shared visions and supporting long-term urban transformation. These findings also offer implications for design education, suggesting that cultivating future designers’ capabilities requires immersive engagement with complex, real-world contexts and developing the ability to facilitate situated and collaborative learning for the public. It positions design as public pedagogy and offers insights for design education to better prepare practitioners for complex, cross-sectoral collaboration.