This is the course descriptions as taken from the Pratt Web site:
Drawing for Product Design – Fall 2004
The purpose of this course is to help you prepare for admission
to the Pratt Graduate Industrial Design program. Develop your drawing
skills to a level that will allow you to quickly and accurately
visualize your ideas. The course will culminate in presentation
drawings, which can be valuable additions to a portfolio. Topics
include: two- and three-point perspective; ideation through freehand
sketching techniques; presentation techniques; introduction to marker
rendering and technical drawing/drafting. Special permission is
required to take this course;
[Dave's notes: The course was basically a series of weekly lessons in
drawing: straight lines, cubes, elipses, and then learning how to
combine them to create more complex objects, the class then asked you
to design objects through rendering with markers to create more
realism.]
Product Design – Fall 2004
Intended for those students interested in gaining admission to
Pratt's graduate industrial design program, this course introduces
students to product design, with a workload similar to a graduate
level class. Students are given weekly assignments with an emphasis on
creative problem solving, lateral thinking, conveying ideas quickly,
visual presentation, and model-making techniques. Students are taken
through multiple design problems culminating in numerous finished,
painted models. Topics include: what designers do and how they do it;
critical thinking and theory; the design process; creating a
portfolio; manufacturing processes; modeling and prototype techniques.
Special permission is required to take this course;
[Dave's Notes: There were several projects that asked you to actually
create models of designs. I worked in styrofeme, Styrofoam, insulation
foam, etc. I worked on multiple iterations through each project and
the final project had to be an appearance model (high fidelity) that
was pained.]
Both classes had homework on the order of 10-15 hours per week.
Yup!!!! But that is nothing compared to the amount of work you do
outside of class time in an ID Masters (and bachelors) program. I
think this last point is really key. A typical ID MAsters student is
working 15-18 hour days at Pratt (one of the reasons I didn't go
through w/ it, if I must be honest). But my point is not to be scary,
but to express again how much the experience is about an intensive
behavior modification program to mold you into a designer with
extremely strong foundations.
I'm sure other design schools can/should offer something similar as
the above or be coaxed.
-- dave
On Fri, Jul 11, 2008 at 1:47 PM, David Shaw <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Dave,
>
> Good explanation. I would be curious to see the syllabi (is that even a
> word?) for those two classes. Unfortunately for those of us that reside
> outside the NY metro area, I'd love to see if I can find classes locally
> that would have the same content.
>
> Thanks,
> David
>
> On Fri, Jul 11, 2008 at 9:56 AM, dave malouf <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Allison, I think you point out a big misconception between
>> "design/practice-orientation" and "theory-orientation". The
>> dichotomy is actually quite false for several reasons. Let's see if
>> I can articulate it more clearly.
>>
>> Studio courses (where you get to practice in a very specific type of
>> environment) are not free from theory, in fact, it is all about
>> theory. It just isn't articulated as such in the syllabus. Are there
>> readings? maybe, but not as a core part of the course. It is about
>> learning theory in the crucible of harsh and frequent critique. In
>> fact, it teaches you the theory necessary in order to even engage in
>> critique. Critique is something not often spoke of in the UX
>> community, but instead we speak of evaluation. The terms are close
>> but very different in terms of process and goal.
>>
>> But if you are really going to learn color theory (cognitive and
>> social), you can do this by reading a book and writing a paper about
>> it, or you can learn it through application.
>>
>> A good design-based education is about relearning how to do and
>> think. it is a huge multi-year period of behavior modification and I
>> think it is this part that people don't understand. Sure you can
>> practice in the "comfort" of your "next" job, but won't you just
>> be continuing to use (at worst) or be effected by (at best) the
>> nervous ticks, limps and stutters that you brought with you. Design
>> education teaches you new ticks, limps and stutters. ;-)
>>
>> ok, everyone, here is my recommendation:
>> Take a design course. Pratt has 2 classes that I would really
>> recommend for people who don't get it, but want to understand what
>> its all about. The classes are meant for people considering going
>> into their Masters of ID (not the point though): 1) product design &
>> 2) Drawing for product design. 2 totally worth it classes that by
>> themselves changed me from a UX Professional to an Interaction
>> Designer in just 10 short weeks. if you decide you want to go to any
>> grad program (or feel you still need it) after that, then go for it
>> and at least you'll be able to make a better decision.
>>
>>
>> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
>> Posted from the new ixda.org
>> http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=31165
>>
>>
>> ________________________________________________________________
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>
>
>
> --
> "Art provokes thinking, design solves problems"
>
> w: http://www.davidshaw.info
--
David Malouf
http://synapticburn.com/
http://ixda.org/
http://motorola.com/
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