Design@Minnesota 2016 #UMNDES1000

This is a collaborative process blog for DES1000 at the University of Minnesota's College of Design. We have different pasts and different futures, but here WE ARE ALL DESIGNERS.

[designumn2016]

Final reflection

This past week we wrapped up the final projects. My group went on Wednesday and this project was a little different since we had to act as though we were the panel approving their design or not. It was cool to get that perspective, and that feel as though they are our client and we are trying to find the team that was able to convey the most convincing project. This class was very enjoyable for an introductory class, and it definitely taught me more about the design process and how to approach it with a professionalism 

[designumn2016]

Final Reflection

This class has taught me so much about myself and about who I am as I designer. I’m incredibly happy that I took this course because it has made me want to pursue a career in design. This class and Professor Stover have taught me so many valuable life lessons. I know that I will take what I’ve learned from this class, with me into the future. I feel very lucky and very blessed to have taken this course :)

[designumn2016]

Final Reflection

I am so happy that I was able to take this class this semester. I have been able to use the skills I learned in this class to produce higher quality work in other classes. I really liked the Wednesday guest speaker, because it was a way that we could see the material we learn on Monday’s and in the book, being applied in the real world. It was really awesome to see fellow students come up with amazing ideas and solutions in their projects. This was truly a class from which I can take nuggets of advice to use from her on out!

[designumn2016]

Final reflection

Design was honestly my favorite class of this year, it forced me to think differently and creatively, both things that I'm good at, I learned business skills, communication skills and even presenting skills, I learned how to be a leader yet also follow ideas of peers, it's been quite the journey and I've learned so much from this one class. Especially about how other college students think, thanks a lot Ms. Stover!!

[designumn2016]

Final reflection

Looking back at this semester, I have to say that this class was pretty interesting. When the semester first started, I thought that this class was going to be boring. After the first project though, I started to realize that the class was pretty interesting. I also started to notice a change in the way that I started to think about things. I started having a creative mindset. I liked learning about the creative process because it can be applied in lots of different situations. I liked this class overall and thought that it was really interesting.

[designumn2016]

Final Reflection

This semester flew by, just like all of the semesters. I came into this class thinking that it would be more about creating drawings or more specific aspects of “design” related fields. However, we were focused on a more interdisciplinary route of design, which is just as good. This way more people could apply what we have learned to their respected career path, and not just design students. I actually came into the class as a marketing major but then switched to product design, which I am extremely excited for. I feel that this course will prepare me for the beginnings of my course work in that field because I can see how effective it was during this class with the projects that we did. I thought the the projects went over smoothly, gaining a better understanding after each on that we did. The final project was a good way to collaborate with our teams one last time before wrapping the semester up. I feel that our group did really well. We were not always sure of our path but we trusted the process and everything fell into place. I have also already typed up the final essay questions for the class, so I can virtually say that I am done. I am now just waiting to submit the paper and am reflecting on what I have learned it the class. 

[designumn2016]

Final Reflection

What a semester it has been! After finishing up the final project presentations, it came to me how far I have come.  Project one seemed like it was years ago but at the same time, it seemed as though it was just yesterday that it was the first day of class.  I have learned so much whether it be learning how to apply the design process, learning of the importance of prototyping, or seeing how collaboration is more effective than individual work.  I enjoyed listening to different speakers as well and all of the diverse backgrounds they have.  My group has really become close over the past months and I couldn't ask for a better team to work with on the past two projects.  I look forward to applying the things I have learned to future classes and projects and hope that all of my group members can do the same.  I found this class to be very interesting and have been reflecting on where it has brought me.  It is sad to see it end but I am thankful that I was able to be apart of it!

[designumn2016]

Reflection

Last week we had our last presentation for our last project. I think our presentation was pretty good. Through this semester, I learned how to think as a designer; what's the design process; and how to work with a group of people with different background. Generally speaking, this class is really helpful and interesting. Projects are fun. And most important, I'm really happy that I could work with all of my teammates and instructor.

[designumn2016]

Final Reflection

Well here’s my last reflection (and probably the last time I’ll ever find myself on Tumblr). It’s been a good semester which culminated in a really interesting final project for our team about protecting honeybees. As a former beekeeper I was thrilled to be assigned this project as I think the well-being of honeybees is a truly important issue. Also, if anyone here is ever interested in trying out beekeeping, shoot me an email at [email protected] and I’d love to chat!

Overall, it’s been cool to look at a wide range of challenges throughout the semester and brainstorm solutions. I think the concept of divergent/convergent thinking is especially powerful and is a method that I hope to incorporate more into my student group as well into my own life. I also enjoyed hearing from a speaker each week about a variety of topics. Although I’m not a Design major, I will be doing plenty of designing throughout my career as a chemical engineering. While most of this design process tends to be technical in nature, I still think that the ideas of this class will benefit me going forward into my career.

I hope everyone had a good semester and best of luck on finals!

[designumn2016]

Final reflection

So this is my final reflection and I have to say it has been a pleasure to take this class as my beginning to design. During this class I learned a lot about the design process. The group work we did were really good and I feel like been a part of the group to accomplish the work. Also the presentations this week are interesting. There is one group talked about helping homeless people and they came up with the idea that we can build a whole system which not only help them to get food and clothes but also help them to find jobs for the future. I think this idea is brilliant since this system helps the homeless people in a more sustainable way.

[designumn2016]

Final reflection

Through the class des1k, I learned a lot. As an team member I learned how to collaborate with others to achieve the project. And how to communicate with them. It’s really interesting to see a group of people work together to solve one problem and it’s amazing when the final idea came out after we communicate with each other. And also interesting to see how their idea come up with. Also I learned how to work as a designer through the design process. And on the each Wednesday, the guest presentations helped me get some new and different ideas.

[designumn2016]

Final Reflection

I remember seeing the mind maps our first day of class and wondering what I had gotten myself into for this semester. Developing from individual to group work, it was fun to see my group and other classmates really evolve in this environment.  Although the direction was sometimes frustratingly vague, I realize that this was a great way to bring out creativity from each of us. Being a marketing major, I am very business minded. I think this design class was fun to see that design thinking can be incorporated in every career.

[designumn2016]

Reflection

The last week of presentations has been fun to watch. A lot of groups tackled waste in really unique thoughtful ways. It was interesting to see how one group incorporated the psychological aspect to making the right decision. Another group took a really applicable approach by incentivizing recycling. It was cool to see all of these super smart ideas brought to life by peers!

[designumn2016]

Reflection 14

As an undergraduate doing engineer, I never get to see the design aspect and the creative thinking that goes into a good idea. I thought they just sort of happen on its own, but now I know there is a process. At the beginning of this class, being a creative thinker was really tough for me since I was always used to hard math where there is always a right answer or right way doing a certain problem. I feel like this class has given me the tools to be a creative thinker as long as I continue to practice creative thinking, and follow the design process. The one thing I also admire about the design process is that it can be used as a way to help a company or it can be used as a way to reach beyond yourself or both. Although I had just taken this class as an Arts and Humanities credit, I can definitely see how I can implement the lessons from this course into my future career path.

[designumn2016]

Final Reflection

As my sophomore year comes to an end, and I sit here writing my final reflection for Design 1000, I can’t help but feel just a little bit sad. I’ve made a lot of great memories this past semester, especially in this class. I got the opportunity to work with a great group of people the whole semester and see our team really go from forming to performing. And I got introduced to the design process and began to learn how to design things. This was my first design class I took at the University of Minnesota, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I came the first day. But after coming to class and seeing what Design @ Minnesota is like, I’m excited to take more! I think this class was a great introduction to every design program here at the University of Minnesota. It taught me all of the beginning stages of the design process and taught me how to use the skills I already had to be creative. Keep up the good work for next year and years beyond!

[designumn2016]

Final Reflection

As I sit here and write my final paper for this course, I can’t help but feel a bit sad. I guess that was my freshman year of college. I can’t believe it’s over already! It seems like just last week I was a scared newbie, now I feel like a seasoned veteran. I feel like I have grown a lot over the past two semesters. Coming into college I definitely had that cocky “I can do anything because I did well in high school” mentality that a lot of high schoolers have. Boy was I wrong. Since coming to college I have vastly improved my work ethic, which is probably the sole reason that I passed my classes. Along with improving my work ethic I have also actually learned to enjoy many of the things I never thought I would. Mathematics, for instance, is something that I never much liked in high school, and I now very much enjoy math. As nerdy as it sounds, I really like sitting down and doing some calculus.

That got kind of rambley, whoops. I guess the main takeaway is that I have really changed as a person. I can’t really accurately put into words how it feels to look back at who I was and who I am now... So I guess I’ll just end this...

[designumn2016]

Final Relflection

The last groups that presented had a common theme of solving the waste issue. None of the groups talked about preventing waste in the first place with using less packaging or something like that. I think we all learned a lot from this project and will be able to implement the design process into our other classes, whether they are design classes or not. The whole theme of this class has been to challenge yourself to think in a different way and think outside of the box. I am glad I decided to take this class and would recommend it to a friend. My only problem was that we did not make anything in the class. I wish that we would have had the change to make something that would represent our projects, and make the class a little bit more hands on.