ID412
Design in a World of Chaos & Uncertainty
Faculty
Lauren Celenza
Design Lead, Writer, Journalist Seattle, WA, US
Course length
Duration
Total hours
Credits
Language
Course type
Fee for single course
Fee for degree students
Skills you’ll learn
Overview
This course provides the core lessons and methods required for designing inclusive and responsible product experiences and industry practices. It will also explore the essential framework needed for mobilizing, advocating, and gaining influence in order to build and scale more sustainable and equitable models, shifting away from old models of disruption and towards an era of regeneration.
Learning highlights
- Enhance your design portfolio by constructing a new product experience that will allow for greater inclusion, safety, accessibility, clarity, and growth amid uncertainty and chaos
- Learn how to recognize the design patterns in technology that induce fear, shame, disruption, and anxiety and identify ways to alleviate it
- Connect directly with industry leaders through guest lectures
- Understand the basis for strong leadership and negotiation principles and how to develop them in a world of uncertainty and chaos
- Learn how to create a strong product pitch that clarifies, provokes, and brings people together
- Learn how to advocate for people and the planet in a profit-driven world
- Understand your limits to maintain a healthy connection to your mind, body, soul while doing this work
Course outline
10 classes
Introductions
- Who we are, where we are.
- Goals & overview for the course.
- Final project brief.
Seven Types of Fear in Technology
How we might be designing patterns of fear, shame, and anxiety without realizing it.
How to alleviate these patterns through patterns of joy, safety, inclusion, and equity.
Context matters
Asking contextual research questions to understand a problem with breadth, depth, and precision
Assessing your own individual context & positionality to make space for a more inclusive process
Bridging the gap between contexts (co-creation between your team and end users / communities)
Understanding the context of your team/colleagues/stakeholders so you can lead with confidence and empathy
Building inclusive & resilient design systems
How design systems can bring order to the chaos without compromising flexibility, inclusion, and compassion.
Tensions and risks to watch for when scaling design systems globally
Building an accessible product from the start, not as an afterthought
Writing strong design principles
Expanding your leadership, influence, & presence amid uncertainty & chaos
Creating a tight product pitch/story that clarifies, provokes, and brings people together.
Elevating your public speaking/presentation skills via screens.
How to work in tech without losing your soul
Negotiating & advocating for yourself.
When and how to say no.
Taming team urgency.
Understanding and navigating profit-driven incentive structures.
Practicing self-care.
How to thrive, not just survive.
Guest Lecture
Ramona Todoca, Creative Director at Wieden + Kennedy
Guest Lectures
- Shaheena Attarwala, Design Manager at Microsoft
- Lavet Adhiambo, Service & Experience Designer, African Leadership Group & United Nations
Final Presentations Pt. 1
Final presentations, feedback
Final Presentations Pt. 2
Final presentations, feedback
Prerequisites
No prerequisite necessary. Come with an open mind, ready to embrace ambiguity, discomfort, and growth.
Methodology
This is a two-week module which will include presentations, case studies, interactive activities, guest lectures, and individual projects.
Students will apply what they are taught in class via a series of in-class exercises, group activities, and an individual project.
Exercises Lectures Interactive activities Discussions Presentations Final individual project
Grading
Lauren Celenza is a digital designer, writer, and journalist with a decade of experience spanning multiple contexts, cultures, and industries. Her work and essays have appeared in Fast Company, Forbes, and NBC News. She has led product design at Google Maps, The World Resources Institute, and Code for America, with a focus on creating emerging technology for inclusive maps, land restoration, and accessible and efficient tax filing. Lauren is the author of Tech Without Losing Your Soul, a newsletter and interview series examining tech’s influence across geographies, burnout and loneliness, and the possibilities for a balanced relationship with technology. She is also a moderator for UNFINISHED Festival in Bucharest, Romania, celebrating art, design, and democracy. She holds a BFA in Graphic and Interaction Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design and a Master’s Certificate in Modern Journalism from New York University.
See full profileApply for this course
Design in a World of Chaos & Uncertainty
by Lauren Celenza
Total hours
30 Hours
Dates
Jun 20 - Jul 01, 2022
Fee for single course
€1000
Fee for degree students
€500
How to secure your spot
Complete the form below to kickstart your application
Schedule your Harbour.Space interview
If successful, get ready to join us on campus
FAQ
Will I receive a certificate after completion?
Yes. Upon completion of the course, you will receive a certificate signed by the director of the program your course belonged to.
Do I need a visa?
This depends on your case. Please check with the Spanish or Thai consulate in your country of residence about visa requirements. We will do our part to provide you with the necessary documents, such as the Certificate of Enrollment.
Can I get a discount?
Yes. The easiest way to enroll in a course at a discounted price is to register for multiple courses. Registering for multiple courses will reduce the cost per individual course. Please ask the Admissions Office for more information about the other kinds of discounts we offer and what you can do to receive one.