• Introduction

    Practicing Design Thinking & Making

    This course was developed by Guido Stompff, professor of design thinking at Inholland University of Applied Sciences
    and Sabien Douven, freelancer at Studio Sowieso and alumni Communication & Multimedia Design

    Design thinking: even though the name suggest otherwise, it is much less about knowing and much more about doing. In Donald Schön's groundbreaking work on design (1984, 1992) he demonstrated that knowing is in the activity of designing, it cannot be separated. This course is designed to help students and professionals to apply design thinking and in this course you will discover that design thinking is learning what is needed by creating it.     The focus in this course is on doing design thinking, offering the tools and methods for students and researchers to conduct design thinking to deal with a (wicked) problem they face. Note that the course: Design thinking & Maker culture offers extensive information on design thinking and makers culture as well. It offers most of all information on the what and why. This course 'Practicing Design Thinking & Making' focuses above all on the ‘how’. 

    Unit 1: Key Principles

    Unit 1 will introduce you to the epistemological bearings of design thinking, and will offer insights on wicked problems; the abductive logic of design design thinking, and the need to 'frame a situation'. 


    Unit 2: Discover

    Unit 2 will introduce you to the first of the stages of the design thinking process aimed to get valuable novel insights, and how to do it. 


    Unit 3: Frame & Define 

    Unit 3 will take you to the second stage, geared to understand how to frame and define the project. 


    Unit 4: Develop

    Unit 4 will introduce you to the stage of designing alternative solutions and how to visualize them.


    Unit 5: Deliver

    Unit 5 will introduce you to the last stage, geared towards delivering a design that can be implemented.


    So in order to understand and apply design thinking, we will offer many how-to ‘s in this course and we hope you enjoy doing it!

     

    References

    • Schön, D. A. (1984). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action (Vol. 5126). Basic books.
    • Schön, D. A. (1992). Designing as reflective conversation with the materials of a design situation. Research in Engineering Design, 3(3), 131-147.
Unit 1: Key Principles►