Class Introduction

Review of Goals and Resources

Class Introduction

László Moholy-Nagy saw design living at the boundary between art, science, and technology. In particular he believed that human biology and psychology changed much more slowly than our understanding of science, and the capabilities of technology. We can easily witness the effects of technology upon the world and ourselves. We are beginning a survey of design so that you are empowered to speak, think, and act as designers. You must practice critically at the masters level. Your ability to act with integrity and intention will drive our profession forward into the future.

Structure of the first program of the New Bauhaus, 1937 (image: MIT, Design Issues)
Source: László Moholy-Nagy’s Curriculum for the NewBauhaus in Chicago, Alain Findeli

Assignments & Goals

Readings & Assignments

The readings for this week include the following:

ASSIGNED READING: Lead with Purpose: Design’s central role in realizing executive vision, 2020 (IIT/Institute of Design)
ASSIGNED READING: Tomorrow’s Critical Design Competencies: Building a Course System for 21st Century Designers, Denis Weil & Matt Mayfield, 2020 (She-Ji)

Assignments for the week are as follows:

HOPES & FEARS: Add your name and photo to the Mural board, along with what you hope to get out of this class. Also add what might make this class a less than optimal experience.
FIND AN ARTICLE TO SHARE: Using the readings, themes, assignments, or other inspiration, find an article to share with the class. Place a link on the class digital white board.
THEMES & QUESTIONS: From the readings and your article, place a key insight and a question on the board for class discussion.
DEFINE DESIGN: Search for how others have described design, including forward thinking definitions. Create your definition of Design.

Goals for this Class

Students will know the purpose, structure, and grading policies for the course. They will know which tools we will use to communicate, and understand essentials such as offices hours. Students will learn about the historical and current structure of the program at the Institute of Design, and be able to articulate how they can be expected to grow.

Premonitions

“The coming of an ‘electronic age’ brings the stringencies of of the profit system into even greater conflict with the potentialities such an age has for richer sociobiological economy… The need for this coordination makes more pertinent than ever the social obligations of the designer as a designer.”

László Moholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion

The Context

The New Bauhaus formed the foundations for the Institute of Design by demanding more of designers. Rather than create designers that crafted new products, Moholy-Nagy sought to teach designers to consider broader possibilities. The many subsequent leaders of the institution, including Jay Doblin, Patrick Whitney, and possibly you, have taken this responsibility to heart. You follow in the footsteps of great designers.

Class Objectives

As graduate students you will be expected to **analyze** and evaluate in historical portions of the class, and to **create** when discussing topics and your future vision of the profession. We have two important learning objectives for the class:
**Learning Objective #1:** Students will learn about the history of design practice from the Industrial Revolution forward, and be able to articulate the factors and forces that led to the evolution of practice by presenting their ideas in class, as well as through various writing assignments.
**Learning Objective #2:** Students will explore the factors that will affect the future of design practice twenty years in the future and be able to clearly communicate their vision for their future by presenting this vision described through artifacts including charts, diagrams, imagery, and essays.
Image: Blooms Taxonomy

The Bauhaus Preliminary Course (1922)

Purpose of Design

“But, fortunately, design is coming of age at a time when its humanist, future-oriented focus, as Jessica Helfand has put it, is sorely needed. Purpose is more than a buzzword; organizations everywhere are being asked what they exist for as they shift their attention from shareholders to stakeholders.”

Lead with Purpose: The 2020 IIT Institute of Design (ID) Report

The Path of the Designer

The ID Pathways Report of 2020 presented a vision for the role of the designer. The goal of the report was to understand where the designer would be situated in the organization of 2025. “We wanted to know what design roles would look like in three to five years, and what skills individuals will need to fill those roles.” As an institution of higher learning, we must prepare you for your future professional life. The report presented a number of organizational frameworks:
**7 Trends**
**2 Truths**
**Pathway from Intent to Effect**
**6 Core Skills**
**4 Design Roles**
**The Flywheel of Design**
Image: Lead with Purpose Report, 2020

7 Trends

Sustainable systems are becoming nonnegotiable
Diversity enables growth
Education models are shifting
Automation is challenging the status quo
Ethics have become a priority
The digital distinction is dissolving into ecosystems
Core values matter more than ever

Integrity is Critical

From Intent to Effect

Democratize design in your organization — Share design but retain responsibility
Call for an organizational “design function” — Lead, be accountable, and respect boundaries
Think—and work—to progress from Intent to Effect — Execute on business strategy by creating a strategic vision
Take responsibility for the Intent-to-Effect Pathway — Make the vision real

Six Core Skills

Design often has a number of ways to influence business and society. We create new stories for business and culture. We develop ways to understand and test the future. And, we create new ways of working together to solve problems. These ideas can be distilled into a set of essential skills:

Storytelling
Prototyping
Foresight
Facilitation
Collaboration
Systems Thinking

Image: Buckminster Fuller with a model of the biosphere for the Canadia (The Harrington Collection)

Thoughts to Consider
Consider how design influences more than business goals.

Image: Architect Deanna Van Buren works with Anthony, an inmate at San Francisco's County Jail. (Credit: Lee Romney)

Design Competencies

“There is design in organization of emotional experiences, in family life, in labor relations, in city planning, in working together as civilized human beings....”

László Moholy-Nagy

The MDes program course system at a glance, Matt Mayfield (2020)

Educating for Competency

Embracing complexity — Creating a shared vision of a problem so that we all understand the issues
Cultivating possibilities — Providing the stimulus for others to act and align on goals and outcomes
Driving impactful change — Using stories and an evidence-based case for action

**Our Scaffolding**

The objective of the ID program is to ensure graduates are able to contribute to organizations and to society through their ability to tackle complex challenges with broad perspectives. “ID courses are roughly organized across three stages of study: *Entry* (orientation), *Core* (base field theory and concept exploration), and *Concentration* (extensions and applications).” From Foundations through practical work in the Action Lab, students are supported by faculty and each other.
**Entry** — We are beginning with an orientation into design practice and systems theort to gain a footing
**Core** — Our core knowledge of design practice comes from the past and we assess this hsitory to understand the future
**Concentration** — We apply our understanding of historical practice to create a new vision of the future
Image: Tactical Design in Exploring Work-Life Modes After Pandemic (Core77)

Assessing Competencies

Do — Professional designers must do and create in order to create a vision
Articulate — Designers grow through articulation of stories and insights
Collaborate — We must collaborate in order to effectively create a common vision and knowledge base

Defining Design

Thinking about design, or design thinking as it was originally termed, has been a preoccupation of designers from the beginnings of the profession during the Industrial Revolution. To paraphrase Patrick Whitney, this period is the first time that people were not familiar with those who created their household goods. The first Industrial Revolution also brought about a distinction between those who designed objects and those who made them. But, humans around the globe have made sophisticated objects, using newly devised technologies, and trading them on a wide basis throughout our history as a species.
In designing this class, I not only had to ask “What is Design?” needed to address “What is designed?” as well. It was critical to consider the difference between creating objects — graphic, physical, technological, transactional, and experiential — and practices. At a point in the past, designers considered the en-total system of technologies, materials, form, societal needs, and consumer needs. This point can most accurately be described as middle of the 18th Century. The role of the designer emerged from this conversation.
“It is not clear when the term ‘design’ first came into use in Great Britain, but it was adopted by the Select Committee whose aim was ‘to enquire into the best means of extending a knowledge of the arts and principles of design among the people (especially the manufacturing population) of the country.’ The decline of the guilds in the 18th century had left a vacuum in British production, and manufacturers filled it with little regard for quality and a strong motivation to produce a high volume of products as quickly as possible.”
We continue to discuss the role of Design and the designer in society, albeit with renewed vigor. Is Design simply the design of consumer objects, services, and experiences? Does the term have wider implications and responsibilities? Who do designers serve? With such a wide breadth of specializations and applications, it is incredibly difficult to create a definition that is accepted by a majority of designers.
Image: Design as an Attitude book
Source: World History of Design, Victor Margolin

Some Definitions of Design

“Designing is not a profession but an attitude.”

— László Moholy-Nagy

“Design is directed toward human beings. To design is to solve human problems by identifying them and executing the best solution.”

— Ivan Chermayeff

“Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones.”

— Herbert Simon

**The Practice of Design**

The medical profession has a definition for the Practice of Medicine.
“Any person shall be regarded as practicing medicine within the meaning of the act, who shall prescribe, direct, recommend, or advise, for the use of any person, any remedy or agent whatsoever, whether with or without the use of any medicine, drug, instrument or other appliance, for the treatment, relief or cure of any wound, fracture or bodily injury, infirmity, physical or mental, or other defect or disease…”
The definition goes on to describe the application of these skills to those in need. Design lacks the need for similar rigor, and has few standards for applying our skills aside from professional or financial success. Architecture has more stringent professional standards and regulations given the need for viable physical structures. The question of certifications for designers is a recurring conversation without a conclusive opinion. Defining the nature of Design and practices would be required to consider certifications.
In the first iteration of this class, Peter Behrens was described as the first professional designer. Combining advertising, branding, graphic design, industrial design, and architecture into a complete corporate design strategy was my rationale for my opinion. His work both inside a corporation and as a consultant only added to my opinion. The Behrens office was the launchpad of many of the 20th century’s modernist architects and designers. The question for the student is “What is design practice?”
As we progress through the class, you will be asked what design practice will become in the future.
Image: Peter Behrens office with assistants (from left) Mies van der Rohe, Meyer, Hertwig, Weyrather, Krämer, Walter Gropius. (Behance)

Industrial Forms

“Design is not about decorating functional forms - it is about creating forms that accord with the character of the object and that show new technologies to advantage.”

Peter Behrens

Class Introduction

Review of Goals and Resources