Jacobs Hall’s four floors contain a broad range of spaces and tools for hands-on making — but for students who are new to design or looking to expand their skillset, it can be hard to know where to start. With the goal of providing accessible entry points to students from across campus, the Jacobs Institute will be offering four Design Night workshops in the fall semester. These one-off workshops, held in a Jacobs Hall makerspace, enable students to gain tangible skills and invite them to participate in an active community of learning and making. The workshops are open to all UC Berkeley students and do not require a Maker Pass for participation, providing an opportunity to explore what’s possible in Jacobs Hall.
All workshops are free; registration will open roughly two weeks prior to each workshop.
Adobe Illustrator for Laser-Cutting
Monday, September 19, 6pm—8pm | Chris Parsell, Design Specialist, Jacobs Institute
In this workshop, Chris Parsell will introduce basic vector drawing and editing tools useful for drafting designs for laser-cutting. This will include customizing shapes, typography, and techniques for converting pixel-based images to vector designs. You can bring your own image to convert into a posterized vector drawing.
No experience is required for this workshop. Participants will gain skills in:
Vinyl Press to Impress
Tuesday, October 11, 6pm—8pm | Charlene Shong, Student Supervisor, Jacobs Institute
In this workshop, students will learn how to create custom t-shirts using Jacob Hall’s newest addition: the vinyl heat press! This is an opportunity for students who are interested in becoming more familiar with both the vinyl cutter and the vinyl heat press, as well as the awesome designs that these machines can bring to life. Bring your design ideas to the workshop and leave with your own custom-made t-shirt.
No experience is required for this workshop. By the end of the workshop, students will be:
Introduction to CAD in Fusion 360
Wednesday, October 19, 6pm—8pm | Jeff Lee, Applications Engineer, Autodesk
In this workshop, you will learn how to model a basic part using Autodesk’s newest product design platform: Fusion 360. You will also learn about Fusion’s cloud-based benefits, as well as a brief overview of the various workspaces (Modeling, Rendering, Sculpt, CAM, Simulation, etc). No prior CAD experience necessary!
No experience with Fusion is needed for this workshop. Participants will leave the workshop:
A Brief Introduction to Arduino and Machine Learning
Tuesday, November 1, 4pm-6pm | David Mellis and Paula Te, Jacobs Design Fellows, Jacobs Institute
Learn about the basics of physical computing by using an Arduino microcontroller to gather data about the world, and see how machine learning methods can be used to turn that data into recognizable information. In this workshop, we’ll program an Arduino with an accelerometer and LEDs. We’ll then use a machine learning tool called ESP to use the accelerometer data to recognize gestures.
No prior knowledge of Arduino is assumed. During the workshop, students will have the chance to: