This research was meant as an exploration of design education from a variety of angles. These investigations informed me, a pre-service art educator, in how I can teach design within my curriculum as well as advocate for design education in my professional career. I focused on two aspects of design: designed products representing the human made world that surrounds us, sometimes referred to as applied arts; and the design process, or design thinking, a reflective process. In an attempt to get a full view of the importance of and applications for design in the art education classroom, I researched through both literature and practice.