Programs | One Year Immersive | Quarter 3 | IDSE 302
Lecture Series: Sustainability & Impact
IDSE 301
Creative Leadership
IDSE 302
Lecture Series: Sustainability & Impact
IDSE 303
Studio: Proof of Concept
Course Overview
One of the benefits of the Austin Center for Design is access to a valuable network of design practitioners. This lecture series will expose you to a collection of design leaders, who will share their experience on topics from the varying role of design across organizations to sustainability and measuring impact.
This course is 8-weeks and focuses inward and outward - inward, towards a clearer student understanding of desired impact through design, and outward, towards empowering students to build their design network. This course also serves as a helpful bridge from previous theory based courses in Q1 and Q2, towards the Portfolio & Professional Practices course in Q4. As a result of this course, students will have greater confidence in their career trajectory, and be better prepared for the job market post AC4D.
Each week will expose students to a collection of design leaders, who will share their experience on topics from varying roles of design across organizations, sustainability and measuring impact. While jobs and work contexts may differ, we will continue to return to the themes of understanding impact, design professions, techniques and applications, and resiliency.
Outcomes and Competencies
The following outcome statements articulate the competencies, abilities, and skills a student will have as a result of completing this class. Upon completing this course, students will be able to:
Understanding Impact. Students will understand how practitioners contextualize (face) wicked problems in their work and measure their impact against them
Design Professions. Students will develop a clearer understanding of the differences between design professions within the realm of human centered design (HCD), including UX, service design, interaction design, civic design, and enterprise.
Techniques and Applications. Students will learn about the real-world application of design methodologies and tools preferred by established practitioners that complement the base HCD structures of research, synthesis, and prototyping
Resiliency. Students will develop an appreciation for the resiliency of HCD career paths, as many practitioners move between industry verticals and design contexts over time
Future Self. Students will through the course of the quarter explore and play with aspirational versions of themselves, giving them the opportunity to reflect both on short term and long term impact they hope to have
Career Hustle. Students will build comfort in cold outreach to designers and companies that interest them in order to build connections that help them further build their tribe outside of the AC4D network in realms of design that interest them
Course Schedule
Class 1
In Class
Introduction to Experience & Service Slices
Syllabus Review & Course Goals
Introduction to Experience
Introduction to Service Slices
Discuss Assignment 1
Activities
Service Slicing - Service Slicing - Use a transcript from Q1 as a class
Out of Class
Assignment - Quarter Long Research
Deep dive on a design career path of your choosing.
Leverage your design research skills to craft a research plan, find research participants and conduct research, then synthesize and ultimately present your insights.
Conduct at least 8 in depth, qualitative interviews with individuals within the career path of your choosing.
Class 2
In Class
In-Class Working Session
Activities
Class time reserved for conducting service research
Out of Class
Finish service research
Class 3
In Class
Journey Mapping
Discussion: Service Research
Introduction to Customer Journey Mapping
Activities
Continue service slice modeling
Service mapping - Use data from service research (round robin)
Out of Class
Activities
Service Slicing - Service Slicing - Use a transcript from Q1 as a class
Reading
[Article] Tools for Systems Thinkers: Systems Mapping by Leyla Acaroglu
[Excerpt] Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers Ch. 1. The Shortcomings of User-Centered Design
Class 4
In Class
Systems Thinking & Critique
Discussion on reading
Understanding Critique
Activities
Continue mapping service slices - pair up and critique
Out of Class
Activities
Continue Service Slices Mapping
Begin Digitizing Service Slices Map, Prepare Presentation
Class 5
In Class
Working Session
Activities
Run a critique using in-progress service slices for peers and instructor
Out of Class
Activities
Finalize presentation for Assignment 1
Class 6
In Class
⏰ Assignment 1 Due: Service Slices Presentation
Discussions
Introduce Assignment 2
Out of Class
Activities
Begin Journey Mapping
Class 7
In Class
In-Class Working Session
Discussions
How-to Present Complex Artifacts
Activities
Peer critique in-progress journey maps
Out of Class
Activities
Gather additional research data as needed
Continue Journey Mapping
Class 8
In Class
In-Class Working Session
1:1 time with instructor
Out of Class
Activities
Finalize Customer Journey Mapping assignment
Class 9
In Class
⏰ Assignment 2 Due: Journey Map Presentation
Discussions
Design Criteria
Introduce Final Assignment
Out of Class
Activities
Create Design Criteria definition
Reading
[Excerpt] Orchestrating Experiences Ch. 6 Defining Experience Principles
[Excerpt] Orchestrating Experiences Ch. 9 Crafting a Tangible Vision
Class 10
In Class
Experience Vision
Discussions
Review reading
Introduce Vignettes & Value
Activities
In-Class Working Session
Instructor 1:1s
Out of Class
Activities
Create initial Vignettes & Value Promise
Class 11
In Class
Scenarios & Storyboards
Introduction to Scenarios
Introduction to Storyboards
Activities
Peer critique in-progress vignettes
In-class: Value promise writing
Scenario development (round robin)
Out of Class
Activities
Continue vignette ideation
Write scenarios
Class 12
In Class
In-Class Working Session
Activities
Individual storyboard development
Out of Class
Activities
Create storyboards
Class 13
In Class
Critique
Critique: In-progress storyboards
Instructor 1:1s
Out of Class
Activities
Finalize Scenarios, Storyboards, Vignettes & Value Promise assignment
Class 14
In Class
⏰ Final Assignment Input Due: Scenarios, Storyboards, Vignettes & Value Promise
Out of Class
Activities
Develop final presentation
Class 15
In Class
Activities
Presentation Feedback Session
In-Class Working Session
Out of Class
Activities
Finalize presentation
Practice
Class 16
In Class
⏰ Final Assignment Due: Final presentations & critique
Presenting jointly with 201 Prototyping & Testing class
Out of Class
🎉
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