Janzen, D.

Design plays an important role throughout our lives everyday. The clothes we wear, the places we live, and the machines we use are all the end result of design. Design has helped to shape our world. 

Sometimes that impact is very simple; for example, the utensils we use to prepare or eat a meal feel comfortable in our hands – the result of skillful design. Other examples of "good design" have a more dramatic affect on our lives. The invention and evolution of the automobile has drastically changed our lives. The impact of the car affects how and where we live (suburbia), the landscape, (freeways), our concept of time and distance, and the way we do business. The evolution of housing design has seen houses with large front porches that were built close to the street being replaced by houses set well back from the street with garages in front to buffer road noise. The process of design is all about problem solving. It begins with a perceived need and results in a product or a change to an existing product. Every design has an end product reflecting historic, aesthetic, psychological, monetary, material, and environmental considerations. 

Design Studies allows students to gain an appreciation for the design fundamentals. Learning how to manipulate and apply the design fundamentals in a variety of problem-solving situations is a major focus of this curriculum. Creativity and problem solving are tools of design. Developing theoretical solutions to problems and testing those ideas using a variety of methods, materials, and processes helps students to evaluate and make decisions as to what is a good design. The students will solve visual, structural, and organizational problems. Students will have the opportunity to solve design problems making choices, compromises and decisions.