The changes in design education in the second half of the 20th century that took place in Ukraine and Sakartvelo (Georgia) are considered in the article. This was the period of formation of training models for designers including the stage of pre-university education. Three conceptual and methodological foundations of learning are defined. The initial level of design education is considered on the examples of Ukrainian and Kartvelian practices, which are designed to provide education of susceptibility to manifestations of material culture. The next step is a survey of professional level that is training of secondary and higher qualification specialists, advanced professional training, retraining, and functioning of scientific institutions in both states. The required framework for national design training systems has been identified. The turn of the 1980–90s is fundamental in reorienting the goals and objectives of training of designers and creating an updated model. Just at that time the principle of a new type of professional thinking formation called “universal designer” was applied. It solved system problems of organizing daily aspects of living activity. This led to the emerging of alternative teaching methods, one of which being the concept of advanced morphology. It is noted that due to objective difficulties both states failed to implement a new model of specialists to the full extend. However, the contours of its capabilities are clearly defined, namely when there are options for choosing a specialization not on the basis of sector-specific industry principle, but according to the model of design issues.
