DEA 3308/6408 Positive design studio

This 4-credit studio-based course focuses on the practice of ‘Positive Design’—design that aims to proactively promote or support the well-being of individuals or communities by evoking valuable experiences . The studio takes a project-oriented approach, through which students will deepen (1) their understanding of the state-of-the-art design knowledge and methodology, and (2) practical design skills for systematically developing design solutions that contribute to the users’ subjective well-being. The project will address current societal challenges such as social responsibility, education, and healthcare. The students will envision and formulate explicit design intentions that include experiential effects on the well-being of users and conceptualize products that fit with these intentions, e.g., positive emotions, self-awareness, intrinsic motivation, virtues, and empathy.

Learning objectives and outcomes

To develop practical skills for integrating psychological well-being into planning, ideation, analysis, and evaluation of new design solutions
To demonstrate scenarios and case studies that provide examples of the ways design impacts users’ emotion, behavior, and well-being
To understand and argue the role of the design and the designer in a socially responsible manner

Syllabus download (2020 Spring—PDF file)