Design Research in Urban Humanities

2018. UCLA ARCH&UD M295

Link: Project Website

* Interdisciplinary Graduate Course

* Required course for the Graduate Certificate in Urban Humanities

Course Description

This course introduces students in the urban humanities to the human-centered design framework through projects and activities in Los Angeles. The goal for this year’s UHI Summer Institute is to create a ‘counter-tour’ that lays bare hidden spaces, unseen realities, missed connections, and forgotten histories in around Los Angeles’ Chinatown. We are calling this project ‘Beyond the Facade’. Our goal is to reveal things that the average passerby is likely to miss and offer a tour that thickens our appreciation for Los Angeles’ culture and history.

Objectives

Thick Mapping Project (week 1), learn to capture human-centered and spatial insights through fieldwork; formulate an argument through maps; experience the value of visual narratives and cartography in storytelling.

Filmmaking Project (week 2), learn to capture human experiences through interviews, field immersion and archives; explore the medium-specific value of film to reveal research insights through stories, facts and emotions.

Prototyping Project (week 3), gain experience in rapid prototyping techniques in design research (sketching, 3D printing and laser cutting); and to increase your skills leading participatory design workshops.

Implementation Project (week 3), to use design thinking to implement a complex interdisciplinary project and gain critical skills in collaborative work.

The Triforium, a film by Amy Zhou, Ellie Tse, Heather Tipton and Spike Friedman.

Displaced Memories, a film by Cassie Halls Katherine Taylor-Hasty, Melissa Peter and Taylor Dinehart