DESIGN 162A/B: Advanced Design
Impact Studio
Tangible Impact + Project Partners
A design major capstone experience by application only.
Overview
Impact Studio is a new two-quarter undergraduate capstone project course offered by the Design Program in the School of Engineering at Stanford University. Each year a small group of students are competitively selected from the graduating class of design majors for the opportunity to apply the latest innovation and design methods to real-world challenges supplied by project partners in the domains of: designing for the planet, for health, for social impact, for biological futures, and their intersections. By the end of the class, students will present inspiring new research and insights, actionable ideas, tested prototypes, and resolved, launch-ready concepts in product or service form.
History
Impact Studio draws from the models and experience of longtime d.school courses like “Design For Extreme Affordability” and “d.Leadership: Leading Disruptive Innovation” which have developed hundreds of projects with 150+ organizations – for-profit, nonprofit and governmental – over the last 20 years. It also draws from a rich history and curriculum of Stanford’s renowned multidisciplinary Product Design program, focused on developing innovative, transformative products, services, and systems in service of human needs.
The degree program has recently evolved to allow students two concentration areas: a methods depth (Physical design + Manufacturing, AI + Digital UI/UX, or Human Behavior + Multi-Stakeholder Research), along with a domain focus application area (listed above). This course is a culminating experience that integrates the two to create tangible impact.
Studio Experience + Project Outcomes
Impact Studio is for passionate, motivated students who want to do work that matters. The course is a culminating and transformative experience, where students build and refine design skills for a complex and changing world and develop their capabilities in collaboration and transdisciplinary innovation. Teams of students spend two quarters researching, developing and prototyping concepts. Student work includes discovery and immersion, design-led needfinding and ethnographic research, problem definition and framing, solution generation, product/service/experience design, rapid prototyping, iterative testing and implementation. Final deliverables include proof-of-concept models and detailed proposals which synthesize user research, design process, design concept presentation, engineering specifications, communication strategy, business plan, and sustainability roadmapping as appropriate.
For Partners, this means investing in a strong collaboration, helping students to engage productively and respectfully with stakeholders, joining on the ambiguous design process, supporting research and access to users (internal or external), and a willingness to flexibly operate within the constraints and opportunities we bring as a Stanford course.
Prospective Students
Application Form
Prospective Partners
Partner with Us
About Us
Teaching Team
Kelly Schmutte kschmutte@dschool.stanford.edu
Charlotte McCurdy cmccurdy@dschool.stanford.edu