This course provides an intensive, five-week seminar of a value that is not only integral to meaningful design-thinking, but foundational to the overall practice of human-centered design. Contextual Inquiry is at the heart of understanding human systems, society, creation and production of goods and services. As one of the key design behaviors which support the design process and methodology practiced within Design Bloc, this mini-mester will teach students contextual inquiry, systems analysis, and design production.

Taught by Sara Martin, Melissa Heffner, Chris Chapman and Shane Owens

This course provides an intensive, five-week seminar of a value that is not only integral to meaningful design-thinking, but foundational to the overall practice of human-centered design. Whether you’re creating a new product, service, entrepreneurial activity, non-profit initiative, or personal piece of art, this course provides the methods / mindsets necessary to empathize with your audience. As one of the key design behaviors which support the design process and methodology practiced within Design Bloc, this mini-mester will help students build a more comprehensive understanding of how to effectively engage with user-groups, stakeholders, and customers.

Taught by Sara Martin, Melissa Heffner, Chris Chapman and Shane Owens

The course examines drawing through exploration of nature and natural elements. It has two main components: the establishment of basic drawing skills in both practice and theory, and the application of those skills to the investigation of the natural world. 

Taught by Lane Duncan, Marc Weissburg and Jeanette Yen

GT-1000 section focused on introducing Design Thinking and Innovation to freshmen at Georgia Tech.

Taught by Kevin Lewis or Sara Martin

As part of TechMade, a joint partnership between the Colleges of Engineering, Management, and Design, in this elective course, students learn the fundamentals of product realization for transforming a concept into a fully functioning product. The course includes a hands-on engineering design project in which students refine a design concept via virtual and physical prototyping in the context of human-centered design. Prototyping includes early-stage prototypes for testing fit, form, and function, along with fully functional prototypes that are representative of the final product.

Introduction to techniques to help designers build a vocabulary to support effective visual communication including fundamentals of layout, sketching, rendering, schematics, information graphics & storyboarding. 

Taught by Lane Duncan 

This course introduces students to user-centric design methods used to identify, understand, assess and prioritize the factors that contribute to more effective design solutions.

Taught by Wayne Li

Social enterprises are dedicated to creating social value by attracting private and public funds to address the challenges of society. They may take the form of a nonprofit, for-profit or hybrid organization. These organizations apply business and market principles in their efforts to solve problems not addressed by the private sector and governments. 

Taught by Robert Thomas

We will introduce students to the geometry of space and manifolds and how these concepts influenced modern arts and sciences, i.e. Cubism and Einstein’s relativity. The realization of geometry is visualization. Students will learn how to draw/sketch by hand in order to stimulate/enhance their visual memory, imagination and practice abstraction of geometric concepts. 

Taught by Francesco Fedele

This course introduces students to the emerging and exciting field of Biologically Inspired Design (BID) through a scaffolded engagement with biological concepts; different modes and methods of scientific inquiry and design exploration; and current approaches to BID research and practice in engineering, science, design, and art.

Taught by Jeanette Yen, Jason Nadler and Wayne Li

This course introduces students to current human centered design thinking methods used to identify, understand, assess and prioritize the factors that contribute to more effective products, services, brands, and businesses. 

Taught by Wayne Li

A multidisciplinary design project that brings together students of various Engineering majors (ME, ECE, BME, MSE, CEE) and Industrial Design to develop humanitarian and industrial projects.

Taught by Wayne Li  

This class acquaints the student with state-of-art concepts in origami engineering and teaches the algorithms necessary to design and analyze origami structures for innovative applications. Through the art of origami, students will be introduced to the basic concepts of the design thinking process and will learn to approach innovation from a human-centered perspective. Combining design and engineering, students will develop origami products by adopting the process of reframing problems in human-centric ways, creating ideas through brainstorming, prototyping, and testing.

Taught by Lauren Stewart