DESIGNING A DESIGN CURRICULUM
Suppose education was a subway system
Trains would be degree granting programs within the system
Stops would represent concepts that students are required to learn
Now consider a specific program...
Design, for instance
All students start on the same train
Foundations
Then they transfer to their degree program of choice
Design researcher Design practitioner Design manager
And each of the stops fall under specific learning outcomes
Thinking
Doing
Scope
Context
Practice
Communication
Confused?
Huh?
We were too. So here’s how we got there.
STARTING POINT
DESIGNING A DESIGN CURRICULUM
Final Documentation The Ohio State University Design 760 (Spring 2010) Professor Carol Gill Curriculum Re-design Research Project
Research Facilitators
Allen Cochran Melanie Dreser Ale Mattos Gabe Tippery
CONTENTS 23
Introduction
26
Research
28
Secondary Research Insights
33
Primary Research Insights
38
Pilot Test
44
Field Test
58
New Curriculum Design
60
Mission
61
Vision
62
Learning Outcomes
63
Curriculum Concepts
64
Concept Definitions
72
Teaching Strategy
73
Assessment
76
Map
80
Structure
The Ohio State University Department of Design Curriculum  Re-design Project
Introduction In 2012, all of The Ohio State University will be transitioning to a semester schedule rather than the current quarter system. Because of this transition, the Department of Design at OSU is undergoing exciting new changes. We are evaluating and updating our core design curriculum so our students learn the new and rapidly changing standards of design and thus graduate as extremely productive members of the professional world. Our purpose, and what is contained in the remainder of this book, is to research the professional and educational aspects of design around the world and to render that information into a usable curriculum guidelines. Presented here is an analogy between our curriculum concept and a subway system. As you proceed further on through the system, the train you ride on actively leads you through conceptual stations. One after the other, concepts compile until students reach the end of the track or graduation.
Research
Research Research for this project was two fold: (1) secondary research into design around the world and (2) primary research in the form of an interpretive MakeTool activity. SECONDARY RESEARCH At the beginning of this project we separated the secondary research into several areas: 1) the state of professional design around the world, 2) the state of design education around the world, 3) the state of professional design and design education at The Ohio State University, 4) interpretations of a MakeTool activity done by the OSU Department of Design faculty about the future of design education, and 5) interpretations of the same MakeTool activity as before but this time done by the OSU Department of Design graduate students. PRIMARY RESEARCH Following the collection of our secondary research, we designed and executed an interpretive MakeTool activity to learn about people’s dreams for the ideal design curriculum of the future. Participants were recruited by our team from our lengthy list of professional, educational, and personal contacts both around the United States and international in countries such as Germany and Brazil. Our MakeTool was completely digital. Participants received an e-mail that explained our project and directed them
to a website. From there, each participant officially agreed to being a part of study and proceeded to a short list of priming activities and questions. First participants filled out a “Letter to Education.” (Page 28). This letter was filled out in several different parts that make up the body of a letter. It was geared at asking participants to discuss what they received from there educational instruction and what they wish they would have received. Following that, participants clicked to the next screen where they were directed to download a PDF (page 28), open it in Adobe Illustrator where they could edit it, and follow the instructions within. This activity allowed participants, all ready primed by the letter before, to created a design curriculum of their choice within the confines of eight academic periods. These academic periods, to us as facilitators, meant four years or eight semesters, but this was left to the participants’ imagination. After each participant finished the MakeTool, they were instructed to e-mail it to us and click to the next screen. Last, participants were asked a few follow up questions (page 29) about some of the digital MakeTool collage and then a few subsequent demographic questions for our benefit. Afterwards, they clicked to a Thank You slide.
Research
Secondary research insights ►► SCOPE OF PROFESSIONAL DESIGN PRACTICE ●● There is a professional need for students to come out of college with some fairly advanced technical (software) skills. ●● PROBLEM SOLVING: Focus on sustainability, user experience / needs, and experience design. ●● Collaboration, creativity, and communication skills are important requirements. ●● Standard career descriptions like Product Design, Visual Communication Design, and Interior Design are still important. However, new job descriptions such as Environmental Design, Business Design and Design Research are becoming trends in job offerings. ●● The companies we researched are represented in every market sector and a variety of different services. They range from health to technology. ●● Design companies look for designers who are experts in their field and who are proficient in the relevant software programs, as well as design specific skills. Additionally to these basics, they are seeking thinkers and progressive, curious, creative and collaborative individuals.
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●● In most of the Asia and Middle-east the government is still the most powerful existing authority that can make large scale national decisions. Because of this there are divisions and offices within the governmental structure of these countries which are managing design-related issues and decisions. If we look at the big picture for these regions, it is partly due to the current state of the economy and industry. ●● While the economy is still not strong enough to support it, design is stimulating the economy in these regions. Design is need driven and transitioning into a very distinctive identity. ●● In Europe and the United States, the economy is stable but is receiving added stimulation from the design industry which is consumer influenced and innovation driven. Design can impact these economies significantly because they are no longer in the basic stages of development. ●● This will help design to evolve past function, and form could follow emotion. This will lead to emerging design thinking and philosophies that could change how design is created and applied rather than what design is.
Research
●● Under the difficult economic conditions of today innovation has quickly become the key factor that determines the winners from the losers in big business. However, the utilization of this resource appears to have specific applications. Large NonDesign Companies have internal designers who design corporate communications and maintain internal branding standards. However, the majority of their innovation is outsourced to external design firms around the world. Some creatives are retained internally as key decision makers, but the dynamic product innovation, brainstorming, and testing appears to be externally developed. These administration level internal creative positions ask for critical agency experience. Possibly to ensure that this individual can successfully navigate the agency structure and corporate structure to retain efficient communication of product expectations. ●● The exception s to these standards are companies in the automotive industry (BMW) and some technology companies (APPLE) who have strong internal design teams that engineer their product innovations.
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►► SCOPE OF DESIGN EDUCATION (GABE) ●● While there are several schools pursuing “non-traditional” curriculum, they are all doing it at the grad level or above. ●● The majority of schools take one of two approaches to undergraduate curriculum: ○○ Immediately silo-ed upon entering the major. ○○ A foundational year then silo-ed with individual tracks. ►► SCOPE DESIGN AT OSU ●● Professional Design exists in most departments, colleges, and centers across the university. ●● The scope of design services at OSU mostly include web design and print media but are expanding into social media and more digital realms. ●● At the moment, facilities services includes it’s own group that designs for web and print, but the scope of their services also incorporates architectural design, urban planning, and facilities management. ●● The principles of design is taught throughout the university.
Research
●● In some capacities, design is a natural part of the established curriculum such as within Art and Dance; however in other situations, the principles of design are being taught seemingly beyond the scope of a particular program such as in the instance of Veterinary Sciences, College of Engineering or the Center for Automotive Research. ●● The Department of Design, like all academic departments, are based on complex rules. ●● There is a significant amount of jargon and technical language involved in curriculum management. ●● Evaluation of current design curriculum ○○ Design process can equal design education: •
•
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To evaluate a current academic curriculum with multiple programs we could related our department’s teaching styles to Liz Sanders’ diagram of the design process. The fuzzy front end represents the start of learning for a degree.
•
The final outcome represents the end state of a degree.
○○ Design process can also equal the learning within one class: •
The first third as the discovery phase.
•
The second third as the design and development phase.
•
The last third as the implementation and production phase.
○○ The global and course oriented scope (as it applies to Liz’s chart) should be communicated clearly to students. ●● Education and the courses for each degree should have an increasing amount of the following: ○○ Exploration ○○ Conceptualization ○○ Visualization ○○ Prototyping ○○ Implementation ●● As new concepts are introduced throughout a students education, students may progress and regress through these phases..
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○○ As concepts are introduced and built on, students should also be gaining advanced knowledge within each concept. Similar to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs we can rate this adoption of knowledge as: •
Understanding: perception of intended meaning.
•
Learning: acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience.
•
Knowing: application through competency.
►► INTERPRETATION OF FACULTY MAKETOOLS ●● Environmentally consciousness, cocreation, collaboration, story-telling and connectivity were in a lot of the boards. ●● Hand skills are present in the future as much it was present in the past and present. (The basics should be learned, no matter how technology advances). ●● Being more inter- or multi-disciplinary is important. ●● Design should be more socially and culturally responsive. ●● Design as umbrella concept, and not individual disciplines.
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●● Areas of the future: Technology, Social/ Cultural/Environmental Sustainability, Collaboration, and Connectivity. ●● Dream of design education as being proactive, and leading the field instead of reactive to the demands of professional practice. ●● “...All the answers are not wrapped up in technology, especially with how quickly it’s changing. Socially responsible... collaborative spirit... harmonious... which are all things independent of technology.” ►► INTERPRETATION OF GRADUATE STUDENT MAKETOOLS ●● There are a lot of good things that are happening in the present. Some of them just need to be adapted or transformed ●● There is a fear of not keeping up with technology. Consequently, design schools should approach technology. ●● The walls between practice and education need to be broken down. ●● Collaboration, co-creation, connectivity and inter-dispciplinary practices were present in almost all the boards. ●● Most used words to be considered for the future: environmentally conscious, interdisciplinary, social change, experience
Research
(cont’d) design, global, collaboration, co-design, co-creation, design-thinking, interactive, meaningful, mobile, multidisciplinary, participatory design, flexibility, simplicity, and respect. ●● Most used words from the past to be forgotten: expert-driven, exclusive, and desktop publishing. ●● Disciplines for the future: service, universal and experience design.
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Primary research Insights As mentioned, we asked participants to complete an online priming activity. The participants engaged all had a design background but were at varying stages in their design career. Some were professionals in the field, others were upper-level students and others were educators. For this activity, we had them write a letter, within a loose given structure, to their respective design education. This letter asked the participant to reflect on the past, present, and future aspects of their education. Knowing that all of our participants were designers, we then asked them to complete a digital MakeTool. This was done in Adobe Illustrator. During the activity, participants sorted the concepts into 8 time-based sections that would reflect what they saw to be the “ideal design curriculum.� Upon completing this activity, the participants returned to the online tool to complete a short follow-up questionnaire. This portion asked a few questions to the nature of technology and software that was important to be included in a curriculum, other areas of academia that have potential for cross-disciplinary collaborations, and larger topics of interest to the future of design. These participant inputs were central to our decision making process as the project moved forward. They provided a set of constraints and insights into what is desired by the design community that we could measure our ideas against.
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Priming Activity screen
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Maketool download screen
Research
Follow up Question screen
35
Thank you / final Screen
Research
Maketool activity Instructions Create your own curriculum using the matrix to the left and the boxes below.
What does the future of design look like? How can design curriculums teach that? Using your professional knowledge and experience, what would you imagine students needs to know in order to graduate and be a successful
You don’t have to use all the boxes. You can use boxes more than once if you need. Use as few or as many boxes as you’d like to.
The matrix below represents 8 academic periods. Below, there are a number of design oriented nouns and verbs. Drag these boxes from below to the matrix above to outline your vision for a future design-based curriculum.
Feel free to add other items as needed. Special boxes are below on the left to add whatever you need.
There are no right or wrong answers. We are looking for your wisdom. Feel free to add your own touch to this document. Whatever you feel this lacks, please add. Your creative insights will help us formulate the curriculum of 2015.
Please send it back! to us. You can return this PDF to Allen Cochran at cochran.291@osu.edu. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to let us know. Write cochran.291@osu.edu or call (513) 549 1554
1
Make your Own If you feel an additional box is needed, use the box below to create whatever else you’d like. Use the Text Tool to edit these boxes
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Animating
Prototyping
Branding
Environmental
Innovation
Psychology
Abstract Drawing
Cooperating
Representing
Business
Environments
Interaction
Retail
Animation
Collaborating
Researching
Cognition
Ergonomics
Internship
Service
Basic 2D
Communicating
Selling
Collaboration
Ethics
Issues
Service Design
Basic 3D
Experiencing
Sensing
Color
Experiences
Layout
Social
Basic 4D
Team-work
Interacting
Sharing
Color Theory
FIlm
Lighting
Social Responsibility
Bitmap Graphics
Technical Drawing
Leading
Sketching
Coop
Furniture
Management
Strategy
Digital Modeling
Vector Graphics
Realistic Drawing Rendering
Spreadsheet
Learning
Strategizing
Culture
General Education
Needs
Study Abroad
Listening
Synthesizing
Design History
Global Issues
Objects/Products
Sustainability
HTML/CSS
Wood Working
Managing
Translating
Design Law
Hospitality
Photography
Sustainable
Java/Action Script
Word Processor
Design Research
Human Interaction
Computers
Web
Organizing
Transforming
Presentation
Typography
Metal Working
Blank
Presenting
Understanding
Design Thinking
Humans
User Experience
Perspective Drawing
Thesis
Blank
Programming
Visualizing
Entrepreneurship
Information
Professional Organization
Users
Rapid Prototyping
Final Project
Blank
Abstract Drawing Animating Animation Basic 2D Basic 3D Basic 4D Bitmap Graphics Branding Business Cooperating Cognition Collaborating Collaboration Color Color Theory Communicating Computers Co-op Culture Design History Design Law Design Research Design Thinking Digital Modeling Entrepreneurship Environmental Environments Ergonomics Ethics Experiences Experiencing Film Furniture General Education Global Issues Hospitality
HTML/CSS Researching Human Retail Interaction Selling Humans Sensing Information Service Innovation Service Design Interacting Sharing Interaction Sketching Internship Social Issues Social Java/Action Responsibility Script Specification Layout Spreadsheet Leading Strategizing Learning Strategy Lighting Studio Listening Study Abroad Management Sustainability Managing Sustainable Metal Working Synthesizing Objects Team-Work Organizing Technical Perspective Drawing Drawing Transforming Photography Translating Presentation Typography Presenting Understanding Print User Experience Professional Users Organization Vector Graphics Programming Visualizing Prototyping (Objects, Psychology Environments) Rapid Web Prototyping Wood Working Realistic Drawing Word Processor Rendering Representing
First we asked three designers to participate in a pilot study
Research
Jamie Female, 26 Fashion Designer, Abercrombie & Fitch Columbus, Ohio
1
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Research
Steffan Male, 24 Digital Designer Ulm, Germany
Interaction -Design Curriculum 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Electronics / Soldering Hardware Prototyping
Screen-Typography
THESIS User Testing
Basic Tools you should learn besides the usual curriculum. Taught by other Students, or by yourself in Lectures.
General Skills any Designer should have and be taught throughout every course.
40
Research
Vanessa Female, 30 Visual Communications Designer (Weleda) Schwaebisch Gmeund
1
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Our pilot participants  had some things to say So we made some changes
Feedback Make the instructions clearer Let participants know they don’t have to use everything Identify that there is no right or wrong Add a larger variety of words Remove certain words like names of software Provide more of an opportunity to add words Reduce the size of the word boxes Make it more apparent that you must open the file in adobe illustrator Clearly state who the file should be e-mailed back to
Second, after some changes, we asked an international group of designers to participate
Research
Annie Female, 28 Designer, NBBJ Columbus, Ohio
1
2
3
5
6
7
8
Communicating
Collaboration
Communicating
Collaboration
Visualizing
Ethics
Collaboration
HTML/CSS
Communicating
Design History
Color
Communicating
Java/Action Script
Learning
Collaboration
Entrepreneurship
Strategy
Color Theory
Design Thinking
Sharing
Digital Modeling
Culture
Communicating
Strategizing
Presentation Final Project
Communicating Internship
Presenting
Basic 2D
Basic 3D
Basic 4D
Study Abroad
Prototyping
Thesis
Collaborating
Vector Graphics
Rendering
Web
Team-work
Ergonomics
Users
Listening
Bitmap Graphics
Animation
Global Issues
User Experience
Managing
Sustainability
Typography
Rapid Prototyping
Design Research
Business
Wood Working
Organizing
Realistic Drawing
Programming
FIlm
Experiences
Interaction
Professional Organization
Layout
Technical Drawing
Lighting
Collaboration
Abstract Drawing Perspective Drawing Understanding
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4
Photography Furniture
Sketching
Communicating
Representing
Research
Barbara Female, 32 Visual Communication and Industrial Designer, HS Anhalt Design Masters Candidate, HS Anhalt, Dessau Germany
1
2 Prototyping
3 Prototyping
4 Prototyping
5 Prototyping
6 Prototyping
7 Prototyping
Cooperating
Cooperating
Cooperating
Cooperating
Cooperating
Cooperating
Collaborating
Collaborating
Collaborating
Collaborating
Collaborating
Collaborating
Communicating
Communicating
Communicating
Communicating
Communicating
Communicating
Experiencing
Experiencing
Experiencing
Experiencing
Experiencing
Experiencing
Interacting
Interacting
Interacting
Interacting
Interacting
Interacting
Learning
Learning
Learning
Learning
Learning
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Listening
Presenting
Presenting
Presenting
Presenting
Presenting
Presenting
Sharing Sketching
Sharing V Sketching
Sharing Sketching
Sharing V Sketching
Sharing Sketching
8 Thesis
Thesis
Final Project
Final Project
Learning
Sharing V Sketching
Transforming
Transforming
Transforming
Transforming
Transforming
Transforming
Understanding
Understanding
Understanding
Understanding
Understanding
Understanding
Visualizing
Visualizing
Visualizing
Visualizing
Visualizing
Visualizing
Cognition
Cognition
Cognition
Cognition
Cognition
Cognition
Collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration
Culture
Culture
Culture
Color Color Theory
Color Theory
Culture
Culture
Design History
Design History
Design History
Ergonomics
Environmental
Culture
Environmental Presentation
Photography
Photography
Presentation
Presentation
Presentation
Typography
Typography
Abstract Drawing Wood Working
Human Interaction
Realistic Drawing Basic 2D
Basic 2D
Basic 3D Metal Working
Basic 3D M Vector Graphics
Team-work
46
Design History
Innovation
Presentation
Presentation
Sustainability
Sustainability
Human Interaction
Service Design
Internship
Internship
Internship
Social Responsibility
Social Responsibility
Innovation Ethics
Objects/Products
Objects/Products
Objects/Products
Objects/Products
Vector Graphics Technical Drawing
Technical Drawing
Web
Web
Rendering
Rendering
Team-work
Team-work
Team-work
Strategy
Study Abroad Web
Web
Animation
Animation
Team-work
Ethics
Research
Brit Female, 28 Fashion Designer, Makeup Artist New York City, New York
1
2
3
Color Color Theory
Design Thinking
Design Research
Sketching
Researching
Strategizing
Basic 2D
Sharing
Basic 3D Realistic Drawing Design History
Translating Information
5
Coop
6
Listening Visualizing
Branding
Sensing
Presenting
Culture
Leading
Objects/Products
Persuasion
Human Interaction
Business
Presentation
Social Responsibility
Layout
Environmental
Organizing
Learning
Sustainability
Typography
Ethics
Photography
Collaboration
Computers
FIlm
Communicating
Vector Graphics
Lighting
Listening Visualizing Sensing Issues
Abstract Drawing
Needs
Rendering
Culture
Bitmap Graphics
Innovation
Prototyping
Objects/Products Users User Experience General Education Word Processor Spreadsheet Team-work Selling
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4
Management Entrepreneurship
7
Study Abroad
8
Thesis
Thesis
Research
Joelle Female., 25 Design Masters Candidate, The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio
1
2
3
4
5
6
7 Thesis
8 Business
Leading
Entrepreneurship
Management
Perspective Drawing
Understanding
Animation
Psychology
Service Design
Color
Professional Sketching
Branding
Digital Modeling
Prototyping
Study Abroad
Representing
Sharing
Cognition
Bitmap Graphics
Java/Action Script
Professional Organization
Communicating
Layout
Objects/Products
Vector Graphics
Presentation
Rapid Prototyping
Collaboration
Interacting
Ethics
Global Issues
Retail
Lighting
Team-work
General Education
Visualizing
48
Presenting
Innovation
Culture
Transforming
Rendering
Social
Design History
Sustainability
Ergonomics
Managing
Synthesizing
Environments
Environmental
Users
Needs
Photography
Researching
Social Responsibility
Design Research
Experiencing
Experiences
Human Interaction
Computers for Design
Typography
Web
Learning
HTML/CSS
Basic 2D
Listening
Internship
Cooperating
Basic 3D
Strategizing
Interaction
Collaborating
Basic 4D
Organizing
Translating
Selling
Internship
Internship
Study Abroad
Final Project
Research
Mert Male, 26 Design Masters Candidate, The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
i want to remind you that i have a strong industrial design point of view Visualizing Layout Color Rendering Rapid Prototyping Design History Design Law
Digital Modeling Team-work
Computers
Technical Drawing Realistic Drawing Perspective Drawing
Basic 2D Basic 3D
User Experience Users
Objects/Products Photography
General Education
Sensing Furniture
Listening
Typography Presentation
Learning Sketching
Design Thinking Researching
Global Issues
Print Lighting
Ergonomics
Ethics Culture Innovation
Needs
Sustainability Sustainable
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Management
Environmental Study Abroad Internship Experiencing Experiences Collaborating Communicating Interaction
Thesis Final Project
Business Branding Design Research
Leading Managing Selling
Research
Nick Male, 35 Interior Design Student, The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Design 1
Design 2
Design 3
Design 4
Design 5
Design 6
Basic 2D
Basic 3D
Basic 4D
3D Modeling
4D
Rendering
Design 8
Professional Organization
Sketching
Design Research
Animation
Digital Modeling
Lighting
Sustainability
Internship
Abstract Drawing Perspective Drawing
Researching Cognition
Animating
Color Theory
Furniture
Environmental Culture
Study Abroad Strategy
Materials Construction
Ethics Social Responsibility
Technical Drawing Realistic Drawing
Human Interaction Building
Communicating Collaboration
8
Design 7
Design Thinking
Design History Design Law Psychology User Experience
50
Vector Graphics Typography
Synthesizing
Organizing
Presenting
Programming
Branding Objects/Products
Service Design Retail
Visualizing Photography
Interacting Portfolios
Managing
Wood Working
Service
Prototyping
Social
Ergonomics
Representing Layout
Final Project
Computer Programs: Photoshop Illustrator
Computer Programs: Flash
Computer Programs:
InDesign
GIF animation
Bonzai 3d Solid Works
Rapid Prototyping
Hospitality
AutoCAD Rhino
5th Semester Review:
Computer Programs:
Computer Programs: Maya Raytrace
Java/Action Script Bitmap Graphics
VRay
HTML/CSS
Web
Thesis
Research
Paul Male, 26 Cognitive Systems Engineering Doctoral Candidate, The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio
1
2 General Education Objects/Products
Design History
3 Design Thinking
Experiencing
Design Research
Interacting
Sketching
Prototyping
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4
Communicating
User Experience
5
6
Sustainability
Information
Users
Researching
Business Strategizing Ethics
7 Cognition
Ergonomics
Innovation
8 Collaborating
Experiences
Final Project
We learned a lot
Research
Primary research Insights ►► ANNIE
design concepts
●● Collaboration and communication are consistently high in each semester. Both appear in every column. ●● The concepts become more abstract as they progress. In the beginning they are more concrete. ●● The first four semesters are mostly technical, skill-building concepts ●● Within the technical skills, there is an emphasis on computer skills.
○○ 8 - Presenting ○○ Participant would like to see a student learn the “basics” so that later on the student could focus in on research and design problems where the basic skills could be applied. ►► BARBARA
●● Instead, the skills that this designer has seem to be well rounded.
●● First semesters - Basics, fundamental design principles. Basic knowledge, before they actually layout.
●● The participant believes this will produce a “well-rounded, diverse skill set” type of designer
●● Middle - Different areas. Different areas to understand design process as a whole and also the specifications of each field.
●● Semester Key Concepts:
●● Last semesters - Specialization.
○○ 1 - learning hand skills ○○ 2 - Developing hand skills ○○ 3 - Sharing and learning technological skills ○○ 4 - Developing technological skills and learning digital skills ○○ 5 - Broadening cultural horizons and learning globally ○○ 6 - Understanding theory and big
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○○ 7 - Leading and managing
●● Students should have a more general degree, not focusing only in graphic or industrial, but much more on design thinking and problem solving. ●● Minors/Specialization in: Service Design, Sustainable Development, Social Innovation Design ●● Interdisciplinary work on: Business, Fine Arts, Humanities
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●● Other important topics: culture, innovation, sustainability and social responsibility.
●● Start of thesis in 6th quarter to give students more time to experiment and implement everything they learned.
●● Quote 1: “Learn not only from my teachers, but also from my amazing classmates and from the world around me.”
●● Environmental, Sustainability and Social Responsible Design is included in 3 Quarters. Focus!
●● Quote 2: “I am really glad that I came across so many different points-of-view of design, communication, and the world in general. ... Thank you for making presentations and pitches such an important part of projects, so that I could learn how to present concepts, ideas and products in a really good way, which is very important in design careers.”
●● Trans-disciplinary Studies: Business, Behavioral Sciences.
►► BRIT ●● No specific software mentioned only HTML/CSS and Java/Action Script. However, in the survey she mentions a lot of software that are important to learn. In the make tool she created she mentions bitmap graphics, vector graphics, animation and digital modelling, but leaves the software to gain these skills open. ●● In three of the eight quarters internship are offered to enhance and practice all the skills the students learned. ●● Study Abroad is offered.
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●● Design Study: Entrepreneurship or Design Management, Social Innovation Design, Interaction Design, Experience Design, Health Care Design, (All inclusive) Brand Management. ►► JOELLE ●● No specific software mentioned only HTML/CSS and Java/Action Script. However, in the survey she mentions a lot of software that are important to learn. In the make tool she created she mentions bitmap graphics, vector graphics, animation and digital modelling, but leaves the software to gain these skills open. ●● In three of the eight quarters internship are offered to enhance and practice all the skills the students learned. ●● Study Abroad is offered
Research
●● Start of thesis in 6th quarter to give students more time to experiment and implement everything they learned
○○ 2 - Design Thinking, Research, Teamwork, and User Experience ○○ 3 - Product Focus Topics (Furniture, Ergonomics, Objects)
●● Environmental, Sustainability and Social Responsible Design is included in 3 Quarters. Focus
○○ 4 - “Design Core Crash Course” Basic 2D/3D, Modeling, Prototyping, Typography, layout design, color.
●● Trans-disciplinary Studies: Business, Behavioral Sciences, Natural Sciences
○○ 5 - Overview of Design Issues, Sustainability/Environment, Ethics, Culture, Innovation
●● Design Study: Service Design, Social Innovation Design, Co-creative Design ►► MERT
○○ 6 - Study Abroad, Internship, Collaboration & Communication
●● Made a big deal about the fact that his curriculum has a strong ID bias. ●● Curriculum very front loaded with skills in semesters 1-4, then 5-7 are all theory related. 8th is thesis. ●● Visualization String runs through the first 4 semesters. ●● No mention to specific software. However, in the questionnaire, most of them were listed, and in the fourth semester, the participant listed “computers” and “digital modeling”. ●● Semester Key Concepts ○○ 1 - Heavy focus on hand skills, Design History and Law.
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○○ 7 - Business & Management ○○ 8 - Thesis ●● Mert’s curriculum seems to be two years of pressing hard on the skills of being a designer, then two years of the more theoretical topics of design knowledge. Throughout, there is a strong string of business related topics. ►► NICK ●● Includes 5 semesters of specific computer software learned. ●● “5th Semester Review” ●● Front load the skills, leaving second half of education to topics for the most part.
Research
●● Topic of portfolio creation and management in the 3rd semester
and 4D basics and both analogue and digital representation. His plan includes a lot of various representation software, techniques, and mediums.
●● Strong string of topics on visualization and presentation. ●● Semester Key Concepts: ○○ 1 - Focus on Hand Skills, Design History and Law, Users and Psychology/Ergonomics. ○○ 2 - Design Thinking/Research, Document/Presentation creation, Communication. ○○ 3 - Animation and Portfolio Presentation. ○○ 4 - Project Management, Color Theory. ○○ 5 - Silo Topics (IS: Lighting, Furniture, Specifications, Materials, etc), and 5th Semester Review ○○ .6 - Overview of Design Issues, Sustainability/Environment, Ethics, Culture, Innovation. ○○ 7 - Study Abroad, Internship ○○ 8 - Professional Organizations & Thesis ●● Nick’s curriculum has a strong emphasis on a design core that includes 2D, 3D,
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►► PAUL ●● Participant’s collage is very theoretical ●● Participant’s collage is very minimal. ●● There is a large emphasis placed on big concepts. ●● The most specific concepts Paul brought in are Objects/Products, Sketching, and possibly Ergonomics. ●● Participant begins with history though and ends with a final project. ●● Semester Key Concepts: ○○ 1 - Foundations in history and general education. ○○ 2 - Foundations in philosophy and learning to visualize. ○○ 3 - Learning relationships. ○○ 4 - Ethics and responsibilities. ○○ 5 - Researching ideas and the business side. ○○ 6 - Understanding thinking and human action.
Research
○○ 7 - Learning teamwork. ○○ 8 - Presenting. ●● Participant describes this curriculum at “well rounded” yet it seems to lack technical abilities and reinforce theoretical thinking but later he describes that too much of a technological focus will answer immediate needs in industry but not longer term needs. ►► SHAY ●● He included co-op/internship/design professional experience in 5 semesters. ●● The design curriculum should not focus only in theory and should teach students how to deal with clients, “especially because design is not very tangible”. ●● And should also teach how to work interdisciplinarly or in the business environment. ●● Should not be spending too much time learning all the technologies instead of designing/applying them. ●● Minors/Specialization in: Entrepreneurship or Design Management, Strategic Design, Design Innovation. ●● Interdisciplinary work on: Business, Behavioral Sciences, Architecture.
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●● Quote 1: “Making me really stressed out for a majority of 2 years and focus too much on politics and craft and not enough time on the process of design.” ●● Quote 2: “I could have made more things in the classroom that could have had more real world application and that I could have done more interdisciplinary work.”
New Curriculum Design
What we came  up with
Mission To prepare our students to develop a clear and unique vision, based in critical thinking and the ability to clearly see the present, evaluate it in the contexts of social, political and cultural environments, and then imagine what the future could be. Our students will be able to see beyond conventions, habits, surface reactions and disinformation — to reveal a true picture of problems and conditions, then create and realize visionable solutions. In addition, the Department of Design is committed to researching, discovering and transmitting knowledge to make lasting contributions to a global society through design research, critical thinking, collaboration and a user-centered approach.
Vision The Department of Design at The Ohio State University envisions being the leading program in design research and creation in the country. Its successful practices, insights, and lessons will help transform students into effective designers and critical thinkers with well-integrated leadership competencies, design skills and team abilities. The program will prepare our students to be able to uphold a viable position in the professional design world and to contribute to collaborative teams through theoretical and professional skills.
Learning Outcomes For the purpose of setting up our broad areas of Learning Outcomes, items 1-5 were more or less handed down to us from the department. Outcome number 6, Communication, was born out of our research. From the secondary research perspective, the Professional Research group identified that communication skills (presenting, speaking, writing, etc.) And the ability to work effectively in a team setting were highly sought after skills hiring process. In addition to this, the majority of our primary research participants included ideas about public speaking, presenting, and communication between divergent populations in their “ideal curriculum� activities. While some of these ideas were already included in the five provided categories, we as a team feel that communication is such a fundamentally important component of a design education that it warrants its own category. This will help ensure that communication gets the attention it needs in all its various manifestations.
Curriculum Concept
Thinking
Impact (scope)
The ability to address design opportunities, including the skills of problem identification, formulation, qualitative and quantitative research, analysis, synthesis, prototyping, user testing, and evaluation of outcomes.
An understanding of the role and ethical responsibility of design in the local and global context, including the foundational comprehension of the application of the concepts of sustainability, social innovation and empathic design to practice.
Doing
Practice
A proficient level of competency with tools, technologies, skills and materials and their roles in the exploration, creation, and production of products, artifacts, environments, systems, communication solutions and services.
An understanding of basic professional practices, including the ability to document, organize, lead and work productively as team members able to adapt to the expanding roles of a contemporary designer.
Context
Communication
Knowledge of established and emerging theory and practice, including critical thinking and an understanding of interdisciplinary relationships in order to recognize and act on opportunities.
The capacity to express, present and explain concepts and make connections as well as the expertise to convey professional standpoints to collaborators.
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Curriculum Concept
Concepts Definitions Global concepts that appear throughout the curriculum and may incorporate multiple learning outcomes. For instance “collaboration” may involve the learning outcomes Thinking, Doing, and Practice. 2D The act of creating realistic and informational illusions on a flat abstract surface. 3D The act of creating realist and informational objects in voluminous real space 4D The act of creating non-spatially definable illusions in a completely abstract time based space. Approach The method or actions taken towards understanding and adapting to situations. Analyzing The ability to interpret and evaluate qualitative and quantitative research and examine it methodically by separating into parts and studying their interrelations. Behavioral science The discipline of science concerning the study of activities and interactions among organisms.
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Branding The abstract guidelines or representation of a product, service, or company that when combined equal the public perception of that thing. Brainstorming The method of idea finding to create new and exceptional ideas in a group. Case-Studies In-depth investigation into one area so as to learn the basic principles of that thing; or the research of similar phenomenon so as to draw parallels between one’s own activities and the activities of others. Co-creation The act of bringing products, services, and experiences into being with the users intended for those things. Cognition The process of thought to develop concepts involving individual minds, groups, and/or organizations Collaboration The process whereby two or more people or organizations work together in an intersection of common goals by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus.
Curriculum Concept
Color Being adept at the use and identification of color systems both physically and digitally and the acute understanding of how one color affects another.
Design Methodology Experience and knowledge of a wide variety of problem solving tactics so that solutions may be derived in a timely and efficient manner.
Cross-cultural communication The understanding of and sensitivity to cultural differences with regard to customs, cultural practices, societal constraints, and other considerations.
Design for Service Understanding of the design process with specific attention to the needs of service organizations, or to assist in the problem solving of demographics in need of less tangible services as opposed to tangible products.
Culture The advanced knowledge of human phenomenon beyond the scientific realm; central to anthropology Design for Experience Understanding of the design process with specific attention to the user needs and experiences that respond to a design work. May include topics such as: Usability, Cognition, Psychology, etc... Design History The scholarly activity of studying past benchmarks of design and the applied arts. Design Law The examination of the laws and regulations that govern intellectual property, international business, taxation, and trade as they pertain to the products, services, and companies designers are creating.
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Design Thinking The discipline that uses the designer’s sensibility and methods to match people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy can convert into customer value and market opportunity. Entrepreneurship The understanding of concepts and skills needed to operate, survive, and prosper in the capacity of a freelance/consultant designer. Ergonomics The science of designing the job, equipment, and workplace to fit the worker. Proper ergonomic design is necessary to prevent repetitive strain injuries, which can develop over time and can lead to longterm disability.
Curriculum Concept
Ethics Topics dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions. Facilitation of Interaction The skills surrounding the means to create exchanges between one or more parties. Globalism The study concerning the belief that the entire world is more important than any one county and, furthermore, is discourse that advocates for economic and foreign policy that transcends political boundaries and upholds a belief that society is stronger as a global village. Identification The process to assimilate an aspect, property, or attribute of the other and to transform it, wholly   or partially. Innovation The incremental process of change and creating new products, services, and experiences or the approach by which these things some into existence. Interpersonal-communication methods Understanding of the techniques and methods for effectively managing the communication between two parties, including ideas of reading body language, customizing messages, and diplomatic conflict resolution.
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Layout The ability to arrange items in 2D and 3D space as well as practically applying these methods while problem-solving. Learning The ability to acquire new knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, preferences, or understanding, and to involve synthesizing different types of information. Listening The act of taking in (predominantly auditory) information from users, peers, instructors, and/ or collaborators for the evaluation and future application to a process or product. Mapping / Visualization The visual presentation of information, data and knowledge. The ability to present complex information quickly and clearly. Marketing Actions related to or business of promoting products, services, or experiences coming to or all ready in the consumer market; closely related to branding. Materials & Processes Learning a wide variety of the ways things may come from input to output and gathering a vast vocabulary of substances that may help in such. Modeling The applied art or activity related to representing symbols in the third dimension.
Curriculum Concept
Network The discipline of knowledge concerning the connections between real or created systems be that information networks, biologic networks, cognitive networks, or social networks. Organizing The ability to make complex systems, ideas, and information volumes understandable, manageable, and usable. Portfolio The means of advertising one’s self to others or a professional display of work attributed to a certain set of personal skills. Presenting The understanding of methods for both visualization and vocalization of work in a professional manner, while maintaining honesty and critical evaluation. Project Management The ability to maintain both a micro- and macrolevel view of multi-step projects with the utilization multiple, at times divergent, resources. Public relations The understanding of concepts and skills associated with the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.
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Practical Skills The refinement of skills applicable to the creation of materials necessary for the communication of concepts. Professional Practice The connection between theory and practice and the actual profession practice students should be required to experience while studying design theory. Programming The technical art of creating for the digital world as pertaining widely to software, computer languages, interfaces, etc. Public speaking The art or skill of addressing an audience effectively. Representing The ability to decipher and create symbols or signs that stand in for something else to communicate internal references externally so that others may understand. Research Methods The understanding and use of secondary and primary (Say, Do, Make) research methods. Sharing The ability to manage relationships between both positive and negative aspects of collaboration, teamwork, public critique, and community.
Curriculum Concept
Social / Environmental Responsibility Understanding of the ethics, standards, and other complex constraints when designing on a global scale. Software Knowing, understanding, and utilizing programs and operating information for electronic equipment. Solving Devising an explanation for or the learning to effectively deal with external forces. Strategic Design The design of future principles aimed at increasing an organizations potential. Storytelling The art or skill associated with the ability to construct and organize the presentation of information with the understanding of the needs of the end-user including empathy, vocabulary, interests, and other considerations. Structure The ability to bring order, form, and understanding to ideas. Sustainability Showing concern for systems that are longlasting while at the same time economically and environmentally viable to maintain themselves; note that the emphasis on ‘to sustain’ rather than an emphasis on ethical concerns for the planet.
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Systems Thinking Methods and processes for understanding complex relationships. May include topics such as Metaphor and Simile, Network Systems, and Mathematics of Scale. Team Management Referring to the techniques, processes and tools for organizing and coordinating a group of individuals that are working towards a common goal. Teamwork Understanding the dynamics of working with a group of people and or being involved in a combined action. Typography The art and technique of identifying and arranging written symbols. User Needs Understanding of particular sets of peoples with regard to the various needs intrinsic to their specific situation, outlook, or perspective. Visualization Mastering the technique of creating or representing images, diagrams, symbols, or like to communicate  a message.
These concepts will eventually drive the creation of courses – one course may contain several curriculum concepts
Curriculum Concept
Core Foundations of Design – ”Foundations”
Degree Track 1: Design Manager
The core curriculum that all design students should learn - Generally this teaches broad concepts. All students must take these classes. It is not enough to produce a professional designer
Emphasis on teams and management here - Utilizes the design core as a means to coordinate and execute projects. There is a distinct emphasis on collaboration, teams, management, and presenting. This track, supplemented by the design core, would produce a designer that could lead teams and manage projects successfully. This track would allow students to see projects from the input to the output.
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Curriculum Concept
Degree Track 2: Design Practitioner
Degree Track 3: Design Researcher
Emphasis on well-rounded technical ability - Builds on the design core. There is a distinct emphasis on visualization here. This track, supplemented by the design core, would produce a designer that could be involved on a team from the beginning and visualize concepts throughout. This track would also produce professional designers that could lead implementation teams.
Emphasis on relationships and design research. This track utilizes the design core as a means to express findings, data, and information as they relate to human experiences. There is a distinct emphasis on research and understanding here. This track, supplemented by the design core, would produce a designer that could inform teams about the fuzzy front end of projects.
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Curriculum Concept
Teaching strategy We largely see Studio-Based Learning as the central theme for how design can and should be taught. Design operates best when it is understood as centrally connected to the culture in it lives, and the studio environment is one of the best ways to understand this. We do see the studio environment gaining more focus and structure in the future of the department. With the identification of a more structured road-map for when concepts should be introduced to the student, the studio projects will have to be structured to provided these opportunities and the right time.
on the student’s track. The Research Designer would be accountable for different documentation than the Practical Designer or the Design Manager.
While we see studios getting more structured in the topic and outcomes spectrum, we also see the studio being more flexible from the student perspective. Part of this is in the increased collaborative nature of the studio. From some of the research that was done by members of this team in a previous research project, students find difficulty doing collaborative projects because of a lack of instruction/guidance in how teams should/can work. We see the studios of future to often include students from more than one of the design tracks, and forecast that the exact expectations of deliverables and work would be unique to the student’s track rather than the project. For example: while every team in a studio would be expected to produce the same end results, the individuals within a particular team would have different deliverables and expectations depending
All three tracks are collaborating on a studio project that is focused on a solution for facilitating micro-lending in a developing nation. In addition to the studio, the Practicing Designer would be participating in a Lab on advanced 4D modeling, and the Design Management and Research Design students may be participating in a Seminar on Storytelling. While these may be tangentially related to the studio course, they are specific to the individual tracks and outside the scope of the discussions of the studio.
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In addition to the studio environment, we forecast that courses that are more topic specific would be conducted as Seminar/Lab courses. These might be focused on concepts that are unique to a particular track, or universal to the tracks but outside of the scope of the studio project occurring during the given quarter. A possible example situation could be the following.
Curriculum Concept
Assessment On the topic of student assessment, we have focused on a few ideas that would fall into what we might call Milestones in the curriculum, leaving assessment at the course level to be defined as outside the scope of this project. These Milestones will be easiest to discuss in what we see as a chronological order from the traditional student perspective. Previous to coming to The Ohio State University, during the University application process, students would express an interest in applying to the Department of Design. They would then complete an application that is focused on assessing the student’s level of writing, critical thinking, reflection, collaborative experiences, and basic design knowledge. This application, along with the student’s academic record (ACT scores, GPA, Community Involvement, etc...) would be used to begin get a feel for the student and their abilities to succeed on the basis of work ethic, communication skills, and perspective. From these applications, there would be a light “weeding-out” of applicants. It is important to note that this is a LIGHT “weeding-out” in the sense that most applicants would make it through this stage. Only the most extreme instances would not make it through. Examples of what we feel might not make it through this level of screening would instances such as the following: People who just
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did not complete all requested items or completed them at and educational level that reflects not being ready for college in general and people who show somehow unusually high levels of beliefs that would not benefit the program (self identified racists or homicidal tendencies for example). Like stated before, most people would get through this stage and be invited to our next milestone. Building on the model provided by activities like Football or Marching Band, we propose a one-week long Design Camp. Design Camp would occur during the summer, a few weeks before Autumn Semester would start. At Design Camp, participants would take part in a series of team-building activities and small design charrettes. The purpose of design camp, beyond the obvious of looking for naturally gifted students who just get design, is to provide insight into the personalities of the students. It would be the intention to be able to select student who are sort of prone to the Ohio State Design approach to design. From Design Camp, a set number of students would be invited to be Pre-Design Majors in the program and would enter their first year in the program at the beginning of the school year. This year is spent taking Design Foundations courses and OSU general education credits. At the conclusion of the Foundations Year, students
Curriculum Concept
would take an Entrance Exam. This would be similar to the type of exam currently given to students entering the program. There would be a series of tasks, a portfolio review, an interview, and a declaration of intended design track (Management, Research, or Practice). The accepted students would then enter their second year as majors in the program. Once accepted into the program, every student will be subject to a year-end review. We imagine that these would be conversations between the individual student and the faculty. We hope that for the majority of students, these conversations will be a simple as “Hello Designer, you are doing a great job. Keep up the good work. Over the summer, enjoy your internship and update your portfolio.� Given this hope, the year-end review does serve two purposes. One, it is a reminder to the student to stay on their game. Two, it is an annual opportunity for the faculty to give recommendations or suggestions to any students who are not doing as well as they could or need a bit more motivation. These sessions would continue until the fourth year in the program when they would be presenting a Thesis Project for graduation.
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So what does all this look like?
sharing
2 collaboration
design methodology
team-work
intro to threads
design history
user needs
2D
design camp
visualization
1
design thinking
Curriculum Concept
ing
rm
to ins
bra
n
o ati ov
inn
3D
t
ou lay
ics
eth
foundation manager practitioner researcher thinking doing scope context practice communication
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#
semesters
re
ltu
cu
lor aphy co r og typ
assessment points
on
ssi
fe pro
s
ice
t rac
al p
ng
aki
pe ic s
bl
pu
ing
en list
77 interpersonal comm. methods
research methods
potfolio
sustainability
case studies
cross cultural comm.
project management
branding
4 story telling
organizing
part-time internship
social / environmental responsibility
representing
software
4D
3 identifying
Curriculum Map (1 of 2)
78 ergonomics
analyzing
6 study abroad
internship
design for service
solving
public relations
team management
marketing
entrepreneurship
network
materials and processes
practical skills
mapping
5
co-creation
behavioral science
design law
story telling
organizing
Curriculum Concept
approach
cognition | psychology
design for experience
modeling
7
79 facilitations of interaction
leadership
market research
systems thinking
programming
globalism
strategic design
Curriculum Map (2 of 2)
8 design manager thesis
design practitioner thesis
design researcher thesis
Curriculum Concept
1
* Design Thinking * Visualization
2
3
* Brainstorming * Innovation
* Identification
* 2D
4
* 3D * Layout
Common
* User Needs
* Representing
* Culture * Ethics
* Design History
* Intro to Threads
* Sustainability
* Social/Environmental Responsibility
* Color * Typography * Professional Practices
* Portfolio
* Team work * Design Methodology * Sharing * Collaboration
* Publics Speaking * Listening
3
* Cross Cultural Communication
Manager
In the first and second semester students learn common skills and concepts. After the first year they split up into their specifications and only share a few concepts.
4
* Project Management * Branding * Case Studies
* Organizing
Manager
Researcher
Thinking Doing
Practitioner
Practitioner * Materials and Proceses * Case Studies * 4D * Software
* Practical Skills * Mapping * Organizing
Scope
Practice Communication
80
Researcher
Context
* Interpersonal Communication Methods * Research Methods
* Behavioral Science
5
6
7
8
7
8
* Solving
* Part-time Internship
* Internship * Study Abroad
5
6
* Storytelling
* Team Management * Public Relations
* Design Law
* Facilitation of Interaction
* Entrepreneurship * Marketing * Network
* Ergonomics * Storytelling
* Design Law
* Design for Service
*Strategic Design
* Design for Experience
* Modeling
* Analyzing * Co-Creation
* Leadership
* Globalism * Market Research
* Systems Thinking
* Programming
* Market Research * Approach * Cognition/ Psychology
Final Project Documentation The Ohio State University Design 760 (Spring 2010) Professor Carol Gill Curriculum Re-design Research Project
Research Facilitators
Allen Cochran Melanie Dreser Ale Mattos Gabe Tippery