Teaching Sample
Human Centered Design
Course Overview
This course introduced students to a human-centered approach to problem-solving. During the course, students worked on real-world projects and developed an understanding of design thinking and various methods of creative problem-solving. The course included fundamental readings in design thinking, interactive design methods and processes, and hands-on projects. Students learned how to conduct design research, focus on meaningful interventions, and created products to address user needs.
Objectives
• Ability to articulate the principles and processes of design thinking
Ability to uncover latent user needs through interview and observation
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of a range of qualitative research skills, including structured and semi-structured interviewing techniques (in-depth interviews, intercepts), ethnographic immersion (participant observation), and writing and analyzing field notes
• Ability to utilize insights in the design of services, experiences, and products
• Apply the methods and mindsets developed in this course to major challenges and problems in the multicultural global context
• Ability to use prototyping as a way to understand more about a problem space
• Ability to communicate with visuals, prototypes, and other non-traditional means, with a nuanced awareness of audience needs and dispositions
*Course description and objectives by Professor Thomas Maiorana
Challenges
Throughout the course students were challenged to redesign and prototype a downtown Davis plaza and present their prototypes to City of Davis employees.
Students stepped out of their comfort zones and built empathy with the local community of Davis. Students began by interviewing city residents to identify their thoughts for a downtown plaza. With these insights, students went to work building and testing prototypes. They learned to visualize ideas through sketching and prototyping as they translated high level needs and insights into tangible solutions that were grounded in empathy for the user.
Concept Sketches, User Interviews & Prototype Testing
Students created concept sketches, conducted multiple user interviews and tested their prototypes with the Davis community. They did multiple rounds of iterations based off of the feedback they received to create a final prototype.
Final Prototypes
The students focused on learning through multiple, rapid iterations rather than focusing on perfection. They shared their process and presented their high level prototypes to City of David employees.
The City of Davis responded with overwhelmingly, positive feedback. They were inspired by the students’ approach on how they addressed issues within the plaza, and plan to work with students to push some of the projects forward.
