1000 Level Designed Objects Course Descriptions

DES OB 1000
Introduction to Design Arts
What do designers do? Through a series of connected studio projects, students will begin to formulate an understanding of design as the process by which culture, ideas, values, and beliefs are expressed via the instruments, language, and systems that we create and put to use. In order to understand how these objects (texts, images, forms, systems, and environments) communicate with their consumers, we will begin the course by investigating the relationship between form and meaning. Selected design objects will be dissected in an attempt to uncover their history, and the beliefs that guided their creation. Aspects of design methodology, including problem delineation, the selection of appropriate research strategies, the application of suitable problem-solving techniques, and methods for assessing results will be stressed. Visits from designers throughout the School will introduce students to the range of design pathways available. This studio class is designed to be an expansive, fast paced, first step into the practice of design that shapes our daily experience of the world.

DES OB 1004
Design Visualization
The course attempts to teach the skills needed to discover, visually describe, and model new problems needing design solutions. It will introduce 4-D video capture and manipulation as a way of describing behavior and situations needing design intervention. The course introduces 3-D physical modeling, CAD modeling, and animation as a way of setting the parameters for design intervention, and introduces 2-D imaging with textual comments as a way of communicating the parameters for a design solution, and clarifying the program brief. Readings include the lateral thinking methods of Edward de Bono and the visual explanation methods of Edward Tufte.