THINK66 | Course Schedule


Unit 1 (weeks 1 + 2) — The Nature of Design

  • What is design? What does it mean to design?
  • Form and function, pragmatics and aesthetics, means and ends
  • Design versus/as art, technology, human needs; affordances and signifiers
  • Case study: the design of a strange pencil bag
  • Case study: Ocarina (a musical toy and instrument for the iPhone)

Learning objectives: hone the ability to critically analyze works of design, distilling them into elements of purpose, aesthetics, function, form, means, and ends; to begin thinking critically with the language of design.

Week 1 — January 8 & January 10 | Readings
  • Artful Design, Prelude + Chapter 1: “Design Is _______”
  • Design as Art, “Design as Art” & “Designers & Stylists” (pp.25-51)
homework 1: Design Etude #1 from Artful Design

Week 2 — January 15 & January 17 | Readings
  • Artful Design, Chapter 2: “Designing Expressive Toys with Technology”
  • The Design of Everyday Things, Chapter 1: “The Psychopathology of Everyday Things”

Unit 2 (weeks 3 + 4) — The Craft of Design

  • What does it mean to design well? virtuous design
  • Mediums and messages; designing “inside-out” from technology
  • The art of programming; the computer as medium
  • Case study: ChucK (a computer music programming language)
  • Case study: Audiovisual design

Learning objectives: learn to think and work critically with the notion of medium, and how mediums shape the message, and the ways in which they are inseparable; gaining a language for evaluating the aspect of quality in a design.

Week 3 — January 22 & January 24 | Readings
  • Artful Design, Chapter 4: “Programmability and Sound Design”
  • Nicomachean Ethics, Introduction & Book I (pp. xiii-18)
homework 2: Design Etude: "Sound Logo" from Artful Design
resources: ChucK (programming language) and Audacity (audio editor)

Week 4 — January 29 & January 31 | Readings
  • Artful Design, Chapter 3 “Visual Design”
  • Design as Art, “Visual Design” (pp. 52-82)

Unit 3 (weeks 5 + 6) — The Ethics of Design

  • Human imperatives; laws of technology
  • “Do no evil” vs. “Do good”
  • Frankenstein in our time
  • Need- vs. value-based design

Learning objectives: gain critical tools to consider the intentional shaping of technology, its role in our world, its effect on society and on the individual. Understanding the distinction of design from needs vs. underlying human values.

Week 5 — February 5 & February 7 | Readings
  • Artful Design, Chapter 8: “Manifesto”
  • (Frankenstein should be read by week 5)
homework: Part I of Project on Frankenstein

Week 6 — February 12 & Febuary 14 | Readings
  • Artful Design, Chapter 7: “Social Design”
  • Nicomachean Ethics, Books VIII + IX: “On Friendship”
*** SPECIAL GUEST LECTURE: Srinija Srinivasan (Feb 5 or 7) ***

Unit 4 (weeks 7 + 8) — The Experience of Design

  • Interaction Design
  • Game design
  • Industrial Design
  • Social design; values of a social tool

Learning objectives: examining design as experience with human intention and interaction; a critical search to articulate worthwhile design and engineering that aren’t problems to be solved (e.g., art, play, experiences).

Week 7 — February 19 & February 21 | Readings
  • Artful Design, Chapter 5: “Interface Design” + Interlude
  • Design as Art, “Industrial Design” (pp. 100-155)
homework: Project on Frankenstein, including webpage
Week 8 — February 26 & February 28 | Readings
  • Artful Design, Chapter 6: “Game Design”
  • The Design of Everyday Things, Chapter 2: “The Psychology of Everyday Actions”
homework: Final Project, Milestone 1 (DUE BEGINNING OF WEEK 8)
*** SPECIAL GUEST LECTURE: Xian Bell (date TBD) ***

Unit 5 (weeks 9 + 10) — The Future of Design

  • Complex human systems (in search of answers)
  • Human- vs. Humanity-centered Design
  • case studies: AI, robots, genetics, VR
  • The Platinum Rule
  • Why do we design?

Learning objectives: to think critically about design as a human endeavor, as it relates to art, engineering, and contexts such as everyday life and society; learn to critically discern the difference between problems/solutions and processes/experiences; By this point, one should have a fuller language to think with, and the awareness to ever further refine these lenses beyond the course.

Week 9 — March 5 & March 7 | Readings
  • “Twilight” by John W. Campbell (short story)
  • The Design of Everyday Things, Chapter 7: “Design in the World of Business”
homework: Final Project, Milestone 2

Week 10 — March 12 & March 14 | Readings
  • Artful Design, Coda
  • Nicomachean Ethics, Book X: “Pleasure”
homework: Final Project, including webpage (DUE WEEK 10)