Courage, Creativity and A Growth Mindset: Providing a Space for Design Students to be Courageous

The aim for this research is to open up a dialogue and discussion around the need for courage in creativity and pedagogy, with a focus on the ways in which education can foster and encourage acts of courage within creative practice. The first part offers a visual overview of what courage looks like in the context of creative practice, specifically illustration, highlighting three main themes of courage within creativity and pedagogy. The second part presents a case study of a graduate from BA Illustration who displayed acts of courage in completing their placement and work experience module as a medical illustrator. The premise of this study within the context of the conference is that courage is a requirement for advocacy in Design Education. This session considers courage as a condition for creativity and how it is a vital component in the process of innovation, learning, and developing a growth mindset.