Course General Description

Products of Design transforms designers, educating head, heart and hands to reinvent systems, create new types of value and catalyze positive change through the business of making.

An optimistic re-imagining of the artifacts of design, reconciling the challenges of production and consumption, systems and consequence Students use a hands-on, making-driven approach to master strategic, technical and narrative skills Industry leaders, interdisciplinary practitioners, passionate iconoclasts and savvy entrepreneurs comprise the faculty Design has transformed the world. Now the world is demanding the transformation of designers. What we consider the “products of design” must go beyond the mass-produced object to include artifacts and expressions that are purposeful, sustainable and systems-aware. The products of design can manifest themselves in many forms—from sets of instructions to object-mediated social interventions, from DIY projects to limited-edition runs, from manufacture-on-demand to mass-manufactured, and from speculative objects to design art. Whatever their expression, designed objects should emerge from a combination of intent and context, celebrating life in addition to solving problems.

School General Description

Welcome to New York City, SVA’s hometown, and the leader of today’s creative economy, with more than 14,000 creative businesses and nonprofits. According to the EY Global Talent in Global Cities 2015 study, New York attracts more creative talent than any other city in the world because it “enjoys a unique cultural scene, embedded in a cosmopolitan and forward-thinking urban environment.” There is no better place to study, practice and work as a creative professional. Critique is a vital and challenging part of the educational experience in a college of art and design. Participating in this practice requires students to be open and vulnerable while they present their work for discussion and questioning, and to trust the transformative powers of the process in service of the work. Through the frequent repetition of this act of openness, students and faculty share and strengthen their humanity, empathy and kinship and their work evolves.