Design in the Public Interest

Catalog description

Design in the Public Interest invites students to critically reflect on the role of designers, methodologies of design practice, and how we might expand our capacities to engage more diverse communities. Through lectures, readings, discussions, workshops, and local trips, students will explore the interplay between societal factors and the built environment, develop skills to explore the relationships between space, mind, and body in our environments, and merge community engagement principles with design practice to effect real-world change. Past semesters have included planning level studies, storytelling projects, design proposals for public spaces, and ideas for making interactive exhibitions. This seminar is open to all majors, offering opportunities for interdisciplinary learning in addition to interactions with community partners, practicing artists, and guest scholars.