The DezignBläst Projects
Thursday, April 11th, 2024A couple of days ago, I uploaded the syllabus for Summer Quarter 2024 CEE 176G/276G Sustainability Design Thinking onto syllabus.stanford.edu. For that syllabus, I included a section on the design projects in the course. This was based on the design of and experiences with the project assignments in Summer 2023 and Winter 2024. The descriptions are intentionally brief and written in an academic bulletin style.
Design Project 1: Independent Project. Emphasis on learning the systematic design thinking process, & changing human behavior. Ideation and design of a single product to influence an individual’s sustainability behavior & mindset. Delivery of a presentation & spec sheet.
Design Project 2: Team Project. Emphasis on supporting programs & initiatives that promote sustainable behaviors within a community. Ideation & prototyping of a space, service, activity or program. Involves interacting with others using interviews & surveys to identify opportunities & resources. Delivery of a presentation & spec sheet.
Design Project 3: Independent or Team Project. Emphasis on sustainability in the future. Design using anticipation of needs & innovative technologies in the future. Involves rapid prototyping & human-centered storytelling. Delivery of a presentation & spec sheet.
I like to think there is YCISL-style design thinking in these concept statements about the assignments. The Who? element is answered by the words “Independent” or “Team.” The Emphasis Areas summarily describe the What? of the course content. The When? is subtle in that we specify “future” in Design Project 3 leaving the other projects more in the now. And the deliverables of the presentation and spec sheet give us the How? the design thinking journey will be communicated for evaluation. Hopefully, the When? & Why? are apparent from the teaching part of the class.
This is just further evidence that design thinking (as well as emotional intelligence) is essential to teaching design. I feel it helps me in building courses that are consistent with Stanford’s reputation for entrepreneurship and innovation. Should design thinking perhaps be a component of teacher education? I’ve always wanted to try a teacher workshop for the YCISL creativity program.