On Wednesday, May 4, and Thursday, May 5, the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation will open its doors for a showcase of student work in Jacobs Hall. Featuring project displays and demos — along with conversation and refreshments — the showcase will be an opportunity to meet a diverse community of student makers, to explore design projects across disciplines, and to celebrate the completion of Jacobs Hall’s first academic year.
Over eight showcase sessions, students in 16 courses will present their work. All of these courses have taken place in Jacobs Hall this semester, making use of the building’s flexible spaces for hands-on learning. With coursework spanning departments, design focuses, and experience levels, the showcase will highlight the diversity of the design innovation ecosystem at Jacobs Hall and at Berkeley. The full schedule is below.
10am-11:30am
Intro to Manufacturing and Tolerancing
See what students have worked on in coursework covering geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, tolerance analysis for fabrication, and fundamentals of manufacturing processes.
Bioinspired Design
Bioinspired design views the process of how we learn from nature as an innovation strategy, translating principles of function, performance and aesthetics from biology to human technology. Learn about diverse student teams’ work on original bioinspired design projects.
12pm-1:30pm
Navigating the Human Path
How can design better facilitate affordable, healthy and meaningful aging in our society? Explore how this class, made up of both undergraduates and elders, has sought to answer this question through the lens of mobility and interconnectedness in a user-centered, co-design context.
User Interface Design
Students will present user interfaces they have developed for specific tasks and target user groups. Learn about the user-centered design approaches that have shaped these interfaces, from user research to visual design and programming.
2pm-3:30pm
DIY Experimental Atmospheric Science
Design, build, measure: see how students in this course have experienced the full cradle-to-grave process underpinning modern observational experiment, from learning the basics of experimental design to gaining skills in building, calibrating, testing, and deploying instruments.
User Interface Design (session 2)
Students will present user interfaces they have developed for specific tasks and target user groups. Learn about the user-centered design approaches that have shaped these interfaces, from user research to visual design and programming.
4pm-5:30pm
Industrial Design and Human Factors
Surveying topics related to the design of products and interfaces from alarm clocks to websites, students in this course have explored elements like the physics and perception of color, sound and touch, as well as case studies and contemporary practices in interface design and usability testing. Learn about how they have applied these concepts to design problems.
10am-11:30am
Innovative Sustainable Residential Design
Check out work from teams of architecture and engineering students focused on re-envisioning the residential unit. Students have led integrated design efforts to produce innovative prototype residences aimed at maximizing sustainability.
Intro to New Product Development (11am-1pm)
Explore innovative new product ideas from multidisciplinary student teams. Students have studied the engineering design process and conceptual design of products, websites, experiences, services, and business models. Particular emphasis has been placed on hands-on creative components, teamwork, and effective communication, as well as on the management of innovation processes for the development of sustainable products. Note: this course’s showcase will run 11am-1pm.
12pm-1:30pm
Bringing Biomedical Devices to Market
This graduate course highlights the context and value of product development — the formalized process bridging the gap between device proof-of-concept and an approved biomedical product in the marketplace. Find out what students have worked on this semester.
Designing for the Human Body
Students will present work from project-based learning experiences focused on understanding product design, with a focus on the human body as a mechanical machine. This course has explored the design of external devices used to aid or protect the body.
Intro to New Product Development (11am-1pm)
Explore innovative new product ideas from multidisciplinary student teams. Students have studied the engineering design process and conceptual design of products, websites, experiences, services, and business models. Particular emphasis has been placed on hands-on creative components, teamwork, and effective communication, as well as on the management of innovation processes for the development of sustainable products. Note: this course’s showcase will run 11am-1pm.
2pm-3:30pm
Design Foundations
Learn about student work in this introduction to the broad world of design, which covers design careers, design fields, histories of design and ethics in design.
Intro to Design Process
Check out projects from a collaborative course aimed at teaching students to be more empathetic designers, able to visualize, create, present and evaluate ideas with others. Topics covered have included uncovering areas for design exploration, developing empathy for end-users, framing and structuring problems, designing and developing concepts and the iterative process of refinement.
Sketching and Visual Communication
Students will showcase original work from assignments like sketching, storytelling, storyboarding, portfolio development, and more. In this course, they have developed visual communication skills that are essential to design processes.
Critical Making
Explore original projects from Critical Making, which operationalizes and critiques the practice of “making” through both foundational literature and hands-on studio culture. As hybrid practitioners, students develop fluency in collaging and incorporating a variety of physical materials and protocols into their practice. With design research as a lens, students envision and create future computational experiences that critically explore relevant technological themes.
4pm-5:30pm
Intro to Prototyping and Fabrication
From drawing machines to bluetooth-controlled cars, check out projects from this hands-on course, which allows students to dive into the basics of prototyping and fabrication. Topics and class activities have included a range of techniques, such as laser-cutting, 3D modeling and 3D printing, soldering, basic circuits and interface mockups.
Challenge Lab: Social Entrepreneurship
See student work from a course in which students work in simulated lean startup teams vying to create innovative products to further a social cause. Teams have navigated weekly challenges centered on understanding real-world constraints, using rapid, iterative build-and-validate development methods, and frequent interaction with sponsors and mentors.
Jacobs Hall is located at 2530 Ridge Road, on the northeast side of the UC Berkeley campus. For information on campus shuttles and links to public transit, please visit Bear Transit. While RSVPs are not required for this open-house-style event, they help with planning and communication; RSVP here.
For additional information, please contact jacobsinstitute@berkeley.edu.
