The study of design in many settings is largely a vocational endeavor, where students focus on learning industry specific skills, and on building design portfolios directed towards acquiring gainful employment. As a design educator I believe it is critical however, for students to step beyond the traditional role of the designer and the typical methods of design research and become immersed in more experimental and experiential investigative situations within their communities that nurture and challenge their self-awareness as designers and citizens.

For my MFA thesis at the University of North Texas, I designed a course, a project called “hamlet” that introduced interdisciplinary students to different multi-sensory methods of design research. Hamlet pushed students to be hypercritical observers of their surroundings (rather than passive participants,) and to transform or reroute their observations to generate new meaning. The objective of the project was for students to address the larger role of the designer in society, learn new experiential methods of design research, and to view their surroundings as designed systems or artifacts that inhabit a much larger social and cultural context.

To read the hamlet thesis paper, click here

The book I designed of the completed class and project with all student work can be seen below.