From package design to parking garages to public housing to Peapod, this course will explore and critique design from the products and the devices we cannot live without, to the invisible networks and the built environments we rely on and navigate in our daily routines. Design is everywhere, however we only seem to notice it when it is “bad.” Through studio projects, this course will investigate what makes “good” and successful design.

What is a design process? What are the strategies designers use today? What are the cross-disciplinary methods from psychology to sociology, from marketing to architecture, that have expanded the concept of design and the application of the design process to disparate fields to generate innovative solutions to simple everyday nuisances to complex global issues? How are artists’ contributions invaluable to the creation of new products, services and technologies that result from this expanded interdisciplinary design field? Throughout this course students will practice an inquiry-based, socially-engaged, and human-centered design process that combines fieldwork, observation, and working through a “problem” through research, model building, and critique. This course will involve discussion, studio work, and presentations. Design professionals will be brought in to work through issues and projects with students.