Week 0 – May 5
Hello and welcome!
This is meant to be a quick overview about how I’ve set things up for this class. This course is one of many firsts for me: using SFU’s Canvas tool, trying a flipped class, distributing our readings/class materials in advance, and maintaining this site to document our journey. So I anticipate there will probably be some hurdles and learning for me along the way. Please be patient! 🙂
How this class is structured
I’ve organized each class to revolve around one central question. Here’s a bit more about that:
Together we’ll explore these questions:
- What is design?
- How can you learn from people?
- How can you facilitate finding?
- How does space work?
- How can you prototype quickly?
- How do our bodies move through space?
- What creates desirability?
- What is play?
- Why do stories matter?
- How do you pitch something that doesn’t exist?
- What did we do?
How this class is organized
On this site you will find:
- Lecture materials (slides, videos of lectures)
- A quick overview of the assignment
- Photos, videos and other documentation from class
And SFU’s Canvas is where you will find all class administration such as:
- Course Syllabus
- Class calendar
- Reading excerpts
- All the details for your assignments
- Discussion boards
- The place for you to submit your assignments
This Week’s Assignment:
Remember you will always find the complete details of the assignment on Canvas. This is only a summary.
Part 1: What is design?
To kick things off we’re going to dive into a few perspectives on design. We will be looking at and discussing the following excerpts:
John Dewey: Having An Experience
Herbert Simon: The Sciences of the Artificial; Rational Choice and Structure of the Environment
Don Norman: Affordance, Conventions and Design
Dieter Rams: 10 principles
Bruno Munari: Design as Art
Part 2: Review class syllabus and policies
Please be sure to thoroughly familiarize yourself with the syllabus including policies on attendance, participation, and grading.