The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the deep cracks of inequality within the South African educational system (Gustafsson & Deliwe, 2020). The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) has presented a range of new technology applications (Lacy, Long, & Spindler, 2020). These technologies can be leveraged to provide more equal access to the technology needed for remote learning (Du Preez & Sinha, 2020). This paper uses a systemic design approach to reflect on the challenges faced in design education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student feedback on the online learning experience during the COVID-19 lockdown was reflected on. Observations were organised in themes and then explored using the first step of Namahn and shiftN’s Systemic Design Toolkit (Van Ael & Vandenbroeck, 2016). Design thinking toolkits are well-established tools for a design process (Tschimmel, 2012). A systemic design toolkit was chosen as a method that incorporates tools from both Design and System’s practice (Vandenbroeck, Van Ael, Thoelen, & Bertels, 2016). The primary aim of this study is to frame the complex systems that contributed to the problems exposed. This inquiry uncovered interlinking issues that exacerbated the challenges of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.