Lecture 1: What is Design? 

DEA 1110 Making a Difference by Design Course Description, Prof. Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao

This is an introductory course for non-designers and designers alike, which aims to expose you to emerging forms of design and its unlimited creative possibilities. With a focus on designs of the 21st century (and beyond!), this course introduces how design can offer an alternative, and often more human-centered perspective towards solving the problems around us. Through a broad range of design examples, it aims to widen and cultivate student's design literacy on emerging forms of design applied in various disciplines, scales, and problem contexts. It invites and challenges you to adopt a more holistic lens to your understanding and definition of design. 

With technology becoming an essential toolbox for the designers of today - and the future - we will examine the role of design in wearable computing, virtual and tangible interfaces, robotics to biology. We will also apply the lens of design to solve the pressing issues of today surrounding sustainability, healthy environments, human development, diversity and inclusion, and social good. Each week, through curated design examples, DEA 1110 explores how designing is part of every discipline. The goal is to, in turn, invite you to examine how design affects you - personally and globally - and how you can apply a design-centric perspective to innovate and make a difference in your future field of expertise.