NBA 5180 - Intro to Design and Innovation

Fall, Spring. 1.5 credits. Letter grades only (no audit).

Fall, TBD; Spring, M. Brudzinski.

This course introduces students to a design toolkit and mindset for creative problem solving. Embraced by major consulting firms, large corporations, tech start-ups and NGOs, design has rapidly emerged as an innovation driver. The design mindset enables a shift from a 20th century, market-based perspective to a more sustainable, human-centered approach to meet this century’s systemic challenges. The course will introduce you to design strategy and provide you with the tools to apply it in a variety of settings, appropriate to careers in consulting, marketing, HR, new product development, financial services, digital tech, entrepreneurship and social innovation. Topics covered include: opportunity finding and innovation; the design thinking cycle of inspiration-interpretation-ideation-implementation; and visual communication. Students will learn to apply design strategies to their work to make it more integrated and collaborative. This course will require openness to new ways of (divergent) thinking.