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Design · MS elective · 3 credit hours · 16 sessions

Design Concepts

This seminar and studio course focuses on the intellectual foundation of design: the “Big Idea.” Targeted at advanced students, it explores semiotics, metaphor, and visual rhetoric to solve abstract problems. Students will learn to move beyond purely functional or aesthetic design to create work that communicates complex narratives, triggers emotional responses, and drives cultural conversations. The course challenges students to ask “why” before “how.”

§ 01 By the end you can
  1. Apply semiotic theory (signifier/signified) to visual communication
  2. Develop strong conceptual metaphors that anchor design projects
  3. Practice lateral thinking and "Speculative Design" techniques
  4. Analyze the cultural and psychological impact of design choices
  5. Articulate design rationale clearly in both written and verbal presentations
§ 02 Sixteen sessions

The whole semester.

  1. 01The Primacy of Concept over Technique
  2. 02Semiotics 101: Signs, Symbols, Icons
  3. 03Visual Rhetoric & Persuasion
  4. 04Metaphor & Analogy in Design
  5. 05Abstraction vs. Representation
  6. 06Brainstorming: Mind Mapping & SCAMPER
  7. 07Developing a Conceptual Framework
  8. 08 · MidtermMidterm Examination
  9. 09Speculative Design & Design Fiction
  10. 10Critical Design: Questioning the Status Quo
  11. 11Minimalist Concepts: Reductionism
  12. 12Maximalist Concepts: Complexity
  13. 13Cross-Cultural Design Concepts
  14. 14The Art of the Pitch: Selling the Idea
  15. 15Independent Project Development
  16. 16Final Critique: Concept Defense

Midterm around session 8. Final project briefed at session 8 or 9 and developed in stages until the juries.

Recommended reading
  1. Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming by Dunne & Raby
  2. Design as Art by Bruno Munari
  3. Visual Intelligence by Amy E. Herman
  4. A Smile in the Mind: Witty Thinking in Graphic Design by Beryl McAlhone
  5. Ways of Seeing by John Berger
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