Design Management Course Descriptions

DMGT 702 History and Interpretation of Innovation
The history and interpretation of innovation is an important class for students to understand, define and distinguish from creative conjecture. A variety of case studies throughout human history are used to look at various aspects of innovation and causal triggers such as culture, environment, teamwork, adversity, intuition, and ingenuity. Students are asked to compare and contrast historical innovation vs. proclaimed innovation. Students apply their finding toward the development of a personal definition of innovation and the role design management plays in creating the potential for innovation to take place.

DMGT 704 Applied Theory in Design
Graduate level design thinking and the management of ideas are the cornerstones of reducing theory to informed practice within organizations. Through a series of presentations, discussions, and exemplar projects, students explore current design practices and the role of theory that informs and guides the management of the design process. Project management topics include preparation of comprehensive design briefs, strategic mapping of the design process, and contingency planning of the project throughout its execution.

DMGT 706 Idea Visualization
Drawing is the core skill in which designers create, communicate and collaborate. In order to have a commanding presence in interdisciplinary collaborative sessions, the design manager must be proficient in drawing and diagramming in front of a group of people. The result of this proficiency is the emergence of a culture of rapid prototyping as the images produced become two-dimensional models of a community of ideas. In this course the focus is on real-time sketching and diagramming among groups in order to: enhance right-brain activity; effectively summarize issues; empower and extract ideas from everyone; and foster collaboration through shared imagery.

DMGT 720 Design Innovation Development and Marketing Strategies
This course presents the principles of project planning and implementation critical to forming a profitable, successful new business entity. Business plan development, technology transfer, offshore sourcing, and alliances with partners and suppliers are integrated into the student's design skill set toward the end of achieving innovation in the marketplace. Moreover, projects undertaken in this class teach the student to develop original design concepts into commercially, marketed and sold products, communications, environments or services.

DMGT 732 Facilitating Creative Thinking
Successful design managers need to be able to create the conditions for creative thinking and innovation within an organization comprised of a wide variety of professionals, most of whom are not familiar with design thinking. This course prepares students to lead teams in the envisioning of new ideas and solutions by developing skills in framing, imaging, and group interaction as they apply the process of design conceptualization outside of the familiar domain of studio skills. In a series of simulations and group exercises, the student acquires experience in idea facilitation through working successfully with non-design people in a creative mode. Prerequisite: IDUS 711.

DMGT 740 Sustainable Practices in Design
Sustainable practice in industry calls for an end to the notion that commerce and the environment are diametrically opposed to each other. Building off of groundbreaking work that reframes world commerce as the only force large enough to enact change at a global level, this course prepares students to apply design thinking to the greatest of all problems: building a sustainable ecologic, economic, and social culture in industry. To this end, design management principles are directed toward the convergence of ideals with reality into a harmonic industry: design. Prerequisite: DMGT 704.

DMGT 743 Studies in Perceptual and Cognitive Human Factors
Understanding and applying the science of human factors is essential in the design of any solution that is to be used, perceived or operated by a human being. This course explores the physical, psychological, perceptual and behavioral characteristics of humans. Through a series of lectures and projects, this information is applied to Interaction Design to develop usable, desirable and effective products and communications. Prerequisite: IDUS 711.

DMGT 745 Collaborative Culture in Design Organizations
This course provides opportunities to learn and apply organizational and design management theory directly to the management of design organizations. In addition, students participate in classroom exercises that emphasize leadership experience, decision-making, and communication skills. Prerequisite: DMGT 704.

DMGT 748 Design Management M.A. Final Project
Through a rigorous project in the management of a complex design process, students achieve a mastery of the issues, methods and tools of design management. Based on a topic developed by the student, the outcome of the design process is manifested in a tangible artifact that satisfies the needs of the customer, market, producer, and organization. Documentation and a formal project presentation demonstrate the student's control of the design process and resolution of conflicting issues related to innovation. Prerequisite: DMGT 720.

DMGT 765 Business and Design Practicum
In this course, students are presented with case studies and situational projects that emphasize the analysis of business practice pertaining to the design of products, visual communications, environments or services. Plans and proposals are formulated and subjected to the scrutiny of their potential for sustainable business development, feasibility and contribution to people's well-being. Students acquire the vocabulary and structure of commerce as design. Prerequisite: DMGT 740.

DMGT 775 Idea Management in Business
Design managers must work in the context of and in partnership with the business of product development, marketing and engineering. This course introduces the student to a new way of framing, planning, and presenting their designed concepts as part of an overall business objective. Students are introduced to the concepts of brand, strategic planning, communication and collaboration. Working with knowledge gained from industry, partners and mentors bring first-hand knowledge to students as they develop coherent business practices that guide their subsequent design studio work. Prerequisite: DMGT 720.

DMGT 782 Collaboration at a Distance
Today's global economy demands that tomorrow's professionals be able to manage projects with people and organizations all over the world. Bolstered by the trends in outsourcing, particularly to China, management of design, whether in multi-national companies or in local entrepreneurial ventures, demands that students be prepared to communicate explicitly with their partners and counterparts who they may never meet in person. In this course the student work as a team with partners in international locations to achieve a coordinated resolution to a design project that combines concept exploration, prototyping, production, and marketing into a cohesive feasibility model. Prerequisite: DMGT 704.

DMGT 788 Design Futures: Trends, Foresight and Intuition
This course introduces the student to the nature of trends: their verifiable causes, consequences, and implications. The ability to successfully interpret trends at both the macro and micro level informs the design manager with foresight, fluid alternative images of futures that form the basis for rational intuition, a blend of left and right brain thinking that speeds up and consensus building and decision-making in organizations. Through a series of projects and case studies, students develop their own skills in identifying and framing trends that affect the design enterprise. Prerequisite: DMGT 704.

DMGT 790 Design Management M.F.A. Thesis
All design management M.F.A. students are required to prepare an original thesis that researches an area of their particular focus. The thesis culminates in a comprehensive written document, in conjunction with a conclusive presentation of a design concept, business model, and demonstration of an original methodology. Prerequisite: DMGT 775.