ART 291 : Design Thinking
In this course we will examine design thinking, a problem-solving approach to create solutions that are both innovative and responsive to user needs, applicable in a wide range of disciplines including education, business, public health, engineering, design & marketing. Students will identify patterns and opportunities for concept development and will do hands-on projects to prototype solutions, test and iterate. Students develop skills that are in-demand in the workforce as well as for academic research. Three lecture hours and 1 lab hour per week. Open to Commonwealth Honors Program students only. General Education Competency met: Human Expression.
Course Outcomes
Through their project work and reflective writing, students will demonstrate their ability to work collaboratively and to apply tools and techniques of the design thinking process to solve problems. Specifically, they will demonstrate by:
1.Utilizing the empathize and define stages to learn directly from the people they are designing for, by observing and interacting to understand their needs.
2. Demonstrating how they implemented the ideate and prototyping stages, using effective strategies to generate, synthesize, connect or transform ideas into forms.
3. Developing unique solutions that demonstrate innovative thinking.
4. Taking risks by actively exploring new approaches and working to integrate alternative or divergent perspectives in their explorations.
5. Utilizing the findings from their research and testing to select an appropriate direction from the various creative approaches they have generated.
6. Implementing their solution, testing, iterating and evaluating.