Designing Thinkers, Not Just Designers: Nirali Parekh Soni’s Insight on Design Foundation Studies

In an era where artificial intelligence can generate layouts, images, and complete design concepts in seconds, the role of a designer is rapidly evolving. Speed is celebrated. Tools are abundant. Automation is accelerating. Yet according to Nirali Parekh Soni, strong foundation studies in design are more important today than ever before.

A Design Educator, Interior and Spatial Designer, Author, and Artist, Nirali Parekh Soni believes that while AI can assist creativity, it cannot replace human judgment, empathy, cultural awareness, and meaningful thinking. Through her teaching philosophy built on three pillars – Skills, Stories, and Systems – she is redefining design education for the future.

The Turning Point in Her Teaching Journey

Early in her academic career, Nirali noticed a pattern. Many students were eager to master software tools and produce polished digital outputs. However, when asked to explain the reasoning behind their design decisions, hesitation often followed.

In contrast, students who had deeply engaged in foundation exercises such as sketching, observation studies, composition analysis, and reflective practice demonstrated greater clarity and originality. They were not simply producing designs. They were thinking through them.

This realization reshaped her approach. Foundation studies were not introductory modules to “complete and move on” from. They were transformational experiences that shaped how future designers think, observe, and respond to the world.

Why Foundation Studies Matter in the Age of AI

1. Skills Begin with Awareness

True design skills are not limited to software proficiency. They begin with learning how to see.

Through exercises involving line, form, rhythm, material exploration, and spatial relationships, students train their visual intelligence. These practices encourage reflection in action, a concept introduced by Donald Schön, where learning happens through continuous doing and thinking.

Strong foundations are built through repetition, experimentation, and reflection — not shortcuts.

2. Stories Give Meaning to Design

Design without narrative lacks depth.

Drawing from Jerome Bruner’s theory of narrative learning, Nirali emphasizes that humans understand the world through stories. When students connect their work to themes such as identity, transition, memory, or environment, their design decisions gain purpose.

In the age of AI-generated visuals, storytelling becomes a designer’s strongest differentiator. While technology can generate images, it does not understand culture, emotion, or context. Designers bring that layer of meaning.

3. Systems Thinking Builds Responsibility

Design does not exist in isolation. Every space, product, or visual communication operates within social, environmental, cultural, and technological systems.

Inspired by Peter Senge’s systems thinking framework, Nirali encourages students to look at relationships rather than isolated elements. Even a basic composition exercise reflects balance, hierarchy, and interdependence principles mirrored in real-world systems.

Designers who understand systems create responsibly.

4. Learning by Doing Creates Resilience

Studio-based education aligns with David Kolb’s experiential learning theory: we learn deeply by doing, reflecting, and refining.

Foundation studios allow students to try, fail, analyze, and improve. This cycle builds confidence and resilience  qualities essential for navigating a rapidly changing design industry.

5. Human Skills Are the Future

Global workforce research consistently highlights creativity, critical thinking, and complex problem-solving as essential future skills. AI can support processes, but it cannot replace ethical reasoning, empathy, and imagination.

Designers with strong foundations use technology wisely. Without foundational clarity, tools can easily dominate thinking.

Achievements and Academic Contributions

Nirali Parekh Soni has been recognized as an Innovative Educator in Interior Design Experiences and featured in Femmetimes Magazine as one of the Independence Inspiring Women. She has presented research on smart cities through international academic exposure, curated solo art exhibitions exploring narrative and human experience, and developed experiential foundation modules in leading design institutions.

Her work bridges academic rigor with creative exploration, making her a thought leader in contemporary design education.

Vision for the Future of Design Education

Her mission is clear: to nurture designers who think deeply before they design.

She aims to help students:

• Observe with awareness
• Question with curiosity
• Create with responsibility
• Adapt with confidence

As technology evolves and industries transform, tools will continue to change. But designers grounded in strong foundation studies will remain relevant, adaptable, and impactful.

In a world accelerating toward automation, returning to fundamentals is not a step backward. It is the strongest way forward.

For academic collaborations, curriculum development, workshops, or research discussions, Nirali Parekh Soni is available through her professional platforms and continues to contribute to shaping the future of design education.