Students want change – they want contextualization of their studies, as they prepare for the profession. They are searching for their roles – their places in practice, and they require lessons of relevancy and spaces for safe experimentation. Rooting curriculum in critical pedagogy – issues of social justice and democracy are not distinct from the acts of teaching and learning – when achieved, can instill in students, self-actualization, and personal agency, which all designers need to communicate and manifest their ideas well. If critical pedagogy is supported by social theory that builds enhanced learning, then curriculum is neither arbitrary, nor subjective. How do we know what we know about design, and is it true for all people? Is what we learn and know about design based upon others’ perception, memory, or testimony, or our own? Design and pedagogy never could escape from, nor thrive in subjective, falsely justified beliefs and cultural assumptions. Creative disciplines must challenge default perceptions to reveal what was hidden for some, and ever-present for others.