ID 492: Special Topics in Industrial Design – Design in Business Context

Instructor: Matěj Chabera
Credits: 3
GEP: Elective

Course Description

Design in Business Context is an intense and demanding course for students interested in a design career. The course gives students a broad perspective on applying their design talent and projects outside in the real world with real success. It is the ideal preparation for creative minds who want to see their ideas become real, be successful, and eventually run their own design practice or business or nurture their developing ability to be independent professionals in an open market.

Students will begin the course with an introduction to the world of a chosen industry partner, a company, an institution, a brand, or a producer that is successful within their realm. The students will then receive a brief on designing a product or a solution for this real client. An essential part of the project definition is formulating the best concept for each student to take on so they can contribute to the client in the most worthwhile way. In practice, this means that one student might design a product and another might design a product packaging if they see that as the key aspect. The instructor will guide each student to ensure everyone is doing relevant, valuable work.

Successful projects of hard-pushing students might be developed into real produced or implemented products depending on the client. The brief will be published at the beginning of the course in collaboration with the external partner company.

This class is recommended to College of Design students. Students coming from other colleges will be asked to submit a portfolio of their past work.

Previous experience in the field of art and design is required, this class may be too difficult and demanding for students with a limited skill set.

Learning Outcomes

Real course result
The students will conclude the course with a design responding to the initial brief. Their output will be in the form of material models, 3D models, renderings, sketches or any media appropriate to their concept. Just the experience of creating these under the professional guidance of the instructor and the client will be an essential career-building experience for the students. This course brings a huge array of learning outcomes to the students as it is a journey into the reality of the design profession beyond the safety and partiality of a school environment. The students will be meeting a real client, developing a real project for them according to their brief and may even be involved with the client in the manufacturing stage. Each student will get the chance to experience how it feels to operate with their
knowledge and skills in a real scenario where all criteria are involved, such as the manufacturability of a design, its economic impacts and problems, the sustainability of the whole project and so on. In its influence on the mind and evolution of a student, this course is closer to a company internship than a normal credited academic course and such are also its benefits and learning outcomes. But all of this happens under the guidance of a professional instructor who helps students do their best and evolve in their weaknesses, making this a truly influential and powerful experience for every student looking to get serious in the field of design.

Individual approach to students
This course focuses on multi-level personal development and independent creative strategic thinking. Every student gets enough opportunity to show their individuality and everyone will get tailored responses to ensure their best progress and a good use of time during the course.
Experiencing this course will make a young, talented student of a creative discipline into a realistically thinking potential entrepreneur who is capable of creating success from their own resources. Compared to most design courses, Design in Business Context reaches beyond the usual limits of academic education and equips the students with tools and means to have a much easier path from the university environment to real-world situations and real achievements.