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DSN 173

DSN 173: Design for People + Planet

Credit Hours: (3)

This course examines the relationship between humans and the designed world: how we perceive our world, how we interact with it, and how we consume it.


Detailed Description of Content of Course

Official Course Description: This course examines the relationship between humans and the designed world: how we perceive our world, how we interact with it, and how we consume it. Topics include: the interconnectivity of the human experience, human-centered design, social sustainability, cultural diversity, universal design, environmental psychology, consumer-behaviors, sustainability, and environmental stewardship which lay the groundwork for creating innovative design solutions that benefit both people and the planet.

Major Topics:

  1. Interactive relationship of design between humans, and the world a.Human-centered design b.Health and Wellbeing c. Design thinking process: Empathy, Define Problems, Collaboration d. Strategic planning concepts
  2. Social Sustainability a. People: Individual, Society, Cultures, and Special populations b. Hierarchy of needs c. Social justice d. Zeitgeist (spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time)
  3. Human-behavior a. Wellbeing: Psychological, behavioral, and emotional factors/conditions b.Universal design c. Societal institutions (a group or organization that has specific roles, norms, and expectations, which functions to meet the social needs of society; i.e., the family, government, religion, education, and media are all examples of social institutions.)
  4. Environment-behavior a. Environmental psychology: affect, impact, privacy b.Human factors: proxemics, ergonomics c. Systems theory (the interdisciplinary study of systems, i.e., cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made) and organizational behavior d. Place: cultural places, people and surrounding, place attachment, wayfinding, sense of place e. Perception of color and light affecting wellbing and behavior f. Physical world: sustainability, importance of planet, biomimicry and biophilia
  5. Consumer-behavior a. Consumer psychology and motivation b.Perception of color and light in marketing c. Third place d. Virtual place: social media, virtual world

 

Detailed Description of Conduct of Course

Instructional strategies to include:

  • lecture instruction
  • use of audio-visual materials
  • cooperative/group learning
  • self-reflective activities
  • student presentations from oral, written, and/or graphic communication activities


Goals and Objectives of the Course

Having successfully completed this course, the student will be able to:

  1. demonstrate an understanding of the interactive relationship of design between
    humans and the world
  2. demonstrate an awareness how human-centered design supports people e.g.
    wellbeing, accessibility, inclusivity
  3. demonstrate an understanding of social sustainability in creating responsive
    design solutions
  4. demonstrate an understanding of sustainability in environmental stewardship in
    creating responsive design solutions
  5. describe and analyze human-behavior to inform a design response
  6. describe and analyze environment-behavior to inform a design response
  7. describe and analyze consumer-behavior to inform a design response

Interior Design Degree CIDA Accreditation (2024) Standards: Standard 4. Global Context. Interior designers have a global view and consider social, cultural, economic, and ecological contexts in all aspects of their work. f) opportunities for developing multi-cultural awareness. Standard 7. Human-Centered Design. Interior designers apply knowledge of human experience and behavior to designing the built environment. Student work demonstrates understanding of: a) the impact of the built environment on human experience, behavior, and performance. Standard 8. Design Process. Interior designers employ all aspects of the design process to creatively solve a design problem. j) exposure to a range of problem identification, idea generation, and problem-solving methods.


Assessment Measures
      

Grading procedures will be determined by the individual faculty member teaching the course
but include the following:

  • minimum of two exams
  • minimum of one cooperative assignment
  • minimum of one project, written or presented


Other Course Information
None


Review and Approval
01/2011

February 23, 2026

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