Learning objectives: hone the ability to critically analyze works of design, distilling them into elements of pragmatics, aesthetics, function, form, means, and ends; to begin thinking critically with the language of design.
Learning objectives: learn to think and work critically with the notion of medium, and how mediums shape the message, and the ways in which they are inseparable; gaining a language for evaluating the aspect of quality in a design. “What does it mean to design well?”
Learning objectives: gain critical tools to consider the intentional shaping of technology, its role in our world, its effect on society and on the individual. Understanding the distinction of design from needs vs. underlying human values.
Learning objectives: Gain critical lenses to analyze the design of social tools, networks, and products; hone the ability to pose critical questions about the underlying motivations that drive decision in social design, including commercial imperatives.
Learning objectives: to think critically about design as a human endeavor, as it relates to art, engineering, and contexts such as everyday life and society; learn to critically discern the difference between problems/solutions and processes/meaning; By this point, one should have a fuller language to think with, and the awareness to ever further refine these lenses beyond the course.