Last taught: 2010-2011, Portland State University
Course Description
Good design requires both creative and critical thinking. Designers in all fields – architecture, engineering, graphic design, etc. – must think outside the box and subject their ideas to analysis and scrutiny: key skills in school and in life. To teach these skills, this course explores the work of designers in each of these fields through readings, discussion, and research. In addition, students engage in several substantial (4-6 week long) hands-on design-and-build projects, including the redesign of a Portland neighborhood and a sustainable solar- and wind-powered miniature residential compound (using LEGO MindStorms kits). We also explore the historical and global importance of design, ethical issues, and try to answer questions like: What responsibilities do designers have for the use to which their creations are put? How can we design systems and products that improve the sustainability of our lifestyles? How can I use the design process in my own chosen field?
Course Goals
By the end of this course students should be able to:
- Apply the steps in the design process to create original work.
- Understand the interdisciplinary nature of the design process.
- Describe how design can improve social and physical systems and explain the societal responsibilities of the designer in areas such as sustainable development and social justice.
- Demonstrate mathematics skills, including application of basic physical laws to contextual problems, testing the functionality of designs, setting and meeting benchmark requirements.
- Analyze a design in terms of the context of the systems in which it operates – human interaction with the design, cultural context, natural harmony, and technical functionality.
- Design and solve problems in a team-based culture using effective communication, cooperation, trust and respect.
- Take advantage of individual thinking styles and cultural diversity to strengthen a team.
Selected Readings
- Huxley A (2005) Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited, with a foreword by Christopher Hitchens. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0060776091
- Kamkwamba W & Mealer B (2010) The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0061730337
- Diamond J (1997) Guns, Germs, and Steel. New York: Norton.
- Hawkens P, Lovins A, & Lovins LH (2010) Natural Capitalism. Snowmass, CO: Rocky Mountain Institute.
- McCloud S (1994) Understanding Comics. New York: Harper.
- Klein N (2009) No Logo. New York: Picador.