Making Meaning: An Introduction to Designing Objects, Part II

Part 2 of Making Meaning: An Introduction to Designing Objects focuses on how design can be progressive, through exploring radical ideas, futuristic aesthetics and by embracing social responsibility. It also looks at the realities of design practice through the eyes of experts in the field. The course begins by showing designers that have done work that is new, and breaks with the conventions of the field. It continues with an examination of how objects capture a sense of “now” by referencing contemporary social, cultural and technological advances. Reflecting on design’s uncomfortable relationship to ethics, the course reveals key ethical dilemmas designers face and helps parse approaches to them. It concludes by examining the working contexts of today’s object designers, how client relationships are formed and maintained and how independent practice can provide a counterpoint to working within corporate structures.