Design process activities help students explore what activities happen in design and how these design activities can be done more intentionally, with an eye on the bigger picture.
In “Good Designers do “X”: Affinity Grouping”, students will have the opportunity to broadly analyze expert designers’ ideas about what good designers do and reflect on the patterns that they see.
Subject area: Design expertise, design awareness, design process
Activity type: Affinity grouping, Discussion
In “Good Designers do “X”: Connecting Design and Teamwork”, students will identify and make connections between Good Designers do “X” statements and conceptual frameworks of teamwork and team dynamics. We have three frameworks here, but we encourage you to also apply any of your own frameworks that you find or develop.
Subject area: Design awareness, Design process, Design expertise, Teamwork
Activity type: Discussion
In “Good Designers do “X”: Pick a Card”, students will have the opportunity to dive through expert designers’ ideas about what good designers do and reflect on the statements that resonate with them.
Subject area: Design expertise, design awareness, design process, reflection
Activity type: Discussion
In “Many Models of Design” students explore “How do you design?: A Compendium of Design Models” by Hugh Dubberly. The Dubberly Compendium is an amazing resource that compiles over one hundred design process models. Through their exploration, students are introduced to the idea that design is plural, not monolithic.
Subject area: Understanding design, Data visualization, Design process, Reflection
Activity type: Discussion
In “Forming Design Awareness Questions” students learn about design awareness and practice it by creating design awareness questions. These questions encourage students to be curious about their design process, what happens in it, and what choices they make.
Subject area: Design awareness, Design process, Reflection
Activity type: Discussion, Brainstorming