Design and Social Change (Design History II)
Design
Melissa Cicozi
Spring 04, sping 05, spring 06

The goal of this course is to highlight the important role of history in communication design and industrial design. We will also examine the ways in which design can affect our culture and environment, both positively and negatively. Our primary focus will be from the 1950’s to the present. While various cultures will be acknowledged and discussed, the major emphasis will be on Western culture. Through lectures, videos, readings and projects, students will develop their ability to incorporate historical context and consideration of potential consequences into their design process.

Projects:
Project 1: Personal Timeline
How do events, artifacts, people, culture and environment affect the development of a product? To better understand this concept, students will create a personal timeline, highlighting important events from birth to the present, eventually shaping the individuals they are today. Timelines must clearly show the passage of time and include images and text for each event. Each student will present his or her timeline to the class in a clear five-minute presentation.
(Group) Project 2: Analysis of a Pittsburgh Neighborhood
Students will form groups of four. Non-design majors are encouraged to team up with design majors so that all students may take advantage of interdisciplinary team skills. Similar to the first project, students will research the development of the Pittsburgh neighborhood of their choice, and gather information about factors leading up to its present state. Once again, events, artifacts (buildings, streets, public art, etc), people, culture and environment all play an important part in the shaping of any neighborhood. Each group will present their concept map and describe their research and design process in a 10-minute presentation to the class. Deliverables will include a concept map, a 10-page report providing more detailed information about each point in the concept map, images which may be incorporated into the concept map and/or projected during the presentation, and a list of sources including books, websites, periodicals and interviews.

Project 3: Design and Activism
Students are asked to consider a problem in their hometowns – perhaps there are no activities for teens. Or maybe a certain group of residents regularly vandalize or abuse public property. Or the commercial district is poorly planned. Or the once beautiful creek is heavily polluted. Maybe there is no recycling program, or the existing program is outdated. Deliverables will include a process book showing historical research as well as documentation of the current state, a concept map showing pertinent relationships, and a well-developed proposal for a process, product, campaign, etc. that will affect the situation in a positive way.