Course Summary 02

We started this second section of the class by talking about the design process.  The lecture portion focused on trying to quantify the process in a way that generalized and described the methods used by designers when going about the process.  I was a little surprised by the way it was described because I always imagined it to be a much more fluid and free process.  But I then discovered that – like many things – the process is unique to each person, company, etc.  We watched The Deep Dive and witnessed firsthand the unique design process used by IDEO.  I realize that not all design firms are like this but also that even if the process involves a more rigid structure that creative thinking is a key.  The other focus of these classes is design that is non-selfish, or at least design that is focused on better the lives of so many people.  This can be in terms of accessibility for physically disabled people or in terms of products that bring luxuries or simple things to a larger population.  One of the invetions that most stuck me was the water bottle that could filter even the dirtiest water, and the fact that it was affordable and could change the lives of so many people from those in 3^rd world countries, to those in the most developed nation in the world (the US).  There are so many things that design can do and really all it starts with is a thought…an idea.