The Jacobs Institute will offer six hands-on Design Innovation courses this summer. Offered as part of Berkeley Summer Sessions, these courses provide entry points to core design skills that apply across disciplines — and they’re open to anyone, including current students as well as members of our broader community. Whether you’re a Berkeley undergraduate hoping to get ahead on certificate requirements or a summer visitor interested in picking up a valuable new skill, the summer offers a chance to dive into design innovation.
DES INV 10: Discovering Design
This course, ideal for students who are looking for an introduction to the broad world of design, covers design careers, design fields, histories of design and ethics in design. Students will gain language for analyzing and characterizing designs. In this course you will be learning design both from theoretical and historical perspectives, and from studio-based design exercises and projects. The weekly assignments and final projects will emphasize foundational design skills in observation, ideation, problem finding and problem solving, formgiving, communication, and critique.
Summer Session B (June 4 – August 10) | Mondays and Wednesdays, 1pm-2:30pm
Yoon Bahk | 2 units
DES INV 15: Design Methodology
This introductory course aims to expose you to the mindset, skillset and toolset associated with design. It does so through guided applications to framing and solving problems in design, business and engineering. Specifically, you will learn approaches to noticing and observing, framing and reframing, imagining and designing, and experimenting and testing as well as for critique and reflection. You will also have a chance to apply those approaches in various sectors.
Summer Session B (June 4 – August 10) | Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3pm-5:15pm
Yoon Bahk | 3 units
DES INV 21: Visual Communication & Sketching
Good ideas alone are not the key to being a great designer or innovator. Rather, it’s the strong process and communication skills that will make you stand out as a design practitioner and leader. In today’s landscape of product design and innovation, great visual communicators must know how to 1) effectively and confidently sketch by hand, 2) understand and utilize the basics of visual design, and 3) tell captivating and compelling stories. This course, offered in a project-based learning format, will give participants practice and confidence in their ability to communicate visually. See a sample syllabus for this course (note that summer content and schedule will differ from this sample).
Summer Session B (June 4 – August 10) | Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5pm-7:15pm
Purin Phanichphant | 3 units
DES INV 22: Prototyping & Fabrication
Explore a range of prototyping and fabrication techniques — including laser-cutting, 3D modeling and 3D printing, soldering, basic circuits, microcontrollers (Arduino), sensors and actuators, and interface mockups — as you make original projects. This entry-level course has no prerequisites and requires no previous experience. See a sample syllabus for this course (note that summer content and schedule will differ from this sample).
Summer Session B (June 4 – August 10) | Tuesdays, 2pm-4pm & Thursdays, 2pm-4:30pm
Chris Myers | 3 units
DES INV 190E-1: Interactive Device Design
This course teaches concepts and skills required to design, prototype, and fabricate interactive devices — that is, physical objects that intelligently respond to user input and enable new types of interactions. The first half of the semester will be dedicated to a survey of relevant techniques in 3D modeling and fabrication; electronics and circuit board design; sensing and actuation for interaction; embedded software development, wired and wireless communication with mobile devices, computers, and networks; and user interface programming. In the second half of the semester, students will propose and carry out a significant design project.
Summer Session B (June 4 – August 10) | Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10am-12:15pm
Eldon Schoop | 4 units
DES INV 190-5: Human-Centered Design Methods: Reimagining Sensing and Mobility
This six-week design course explores reimagining mobile sensing devices (such as wearables, smart phones, mobile robots, security devices, and on-board automotive devices) through the lens of cybersecurity awareness. Over the six weeks of the course, students will go through a human-centered design process (Research-Analyze-Ideate-Build-Communicate) on a mobile sensing design challenge. The course is partnered with theDesignExchange (tDX) research group, and students in this course will get the benefit of free registration and support from tDX researchers throughout the term.
Summer Session D (July 2 – August 10) | Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1pm-3:30pm
Euiyoung Kim | 2 units
Beyond these Design Innovation offerings, a number of other design-focused courses will take place on campus this summer, including many that count toward the Berkeley Certificate in Design Innovation (BCDI). Visit the BCDI website to learn more about relevant courses, and check back soon for updates on this summer’s offerings.
Contact Amy Dinh for questions about Design Innovation courses. For general information on Berkeley Summer Sessions, visit the summer sessions website.