Welcome to DESG 260

Introduce yourself to your neighbors:

Name, year, one thing you're excited about this semester

Prayer

[Name], will you pray for us today?

Unit A: Wayfinding Map & Icons

Good design requires discovering the right problem AND executing it with skill

Today

Welcome & Introductions
Syllabus & Course Overview
What is Design?
Principles of Great Design & Learning
Experience Mapping Gallery Walk
Assignment 1 & Brainstorming

By the end of today...

The Core Framework

You'll understand design as "forming and rendering intent" — the central idea of this course

Experience Mapping

You'll know what wayfinding, journey maps, and experience maps are and how icons support them

Your First Project

You'll have brainstormed 5+ journey ideas and know exactly what's due for A1

Four Major Projects

Unit A

Wayfinding Map & Icons

Unit B

Make It Better App

Unit C

Responsive Website

Unit D

Neue App (Capstone)

Each builds on the last — forming and rendering intent at increasing complexity.

What is Design?

Let's define it together

What is an experience?

Discuss with a neighbor for 2 minutes.

An experience is...

A period of time in which someone is consciously engaged with their surroundings.

How do you define design?

Give your own definition — don't look it up.

Discuss with a neighbor, then share with the class.

Design is the forming
and rendering of intent.

Forming vs. Rendering

Forming Intent

Discovering the right problem and envisioning the right solution

Rendering Intent

Executing that vision with skill and craft

Good design = excellence in both

Bad design = failure in either one

Why did I have you discuss your definitions before sharing mine?

If you want to be a great designer,
be a great learner.

These principles apply to both.

Principles of Great Design & Learning

  1. Feedback reveals blindspots — External perspectives show what you cannot see yourself
  2. Externalization clarifies thinking — Explaining your design helps you find gaps
  3. Failure is natural — First attempts are experiments, not final answers
  4. Incubation enables breakthroughs — Your brain works even when you step away

Principles of Great Design & Learning

  1. Iterate low to high fidelity — Start simple, progress to complex
  2. Teaching deepens understanding — You don't fully know until you can teach it
  3. Reflection accelerates growth — Without reflection, experience doesn't become learning

Experience Mapping

Wayfinding, journey maps, and icons

Three Related Ideas

Wayfinding

Navigating through space — "How do I get from here to there?"

Journey Map

Visualization of experience over time, showing touchpoints and emotions

Experience Map

Broader than journey maps — captures any human experience

Gallery Walk — 7 Examples

For each example, consider:

  1. What journey is being mapped? (Physical? Emotional? Metaphorical?)
  2. What do the icons represent? (Objects? Emotions? Key moments?)
  3. How does the design tell a story from beginning to end?
  4. What makes the icon set cohesive? (Line weight? Style? Color?)

Assignment 1

Wayfinding Map & Icons — The arc of Unit A

Unit A Assignments

A1

Sketches
due Day 2

A2

Icon Set Draft
due Day 3

A3

Vectorized Icons
due Day 4

A4

Final Process Book
due Day 5

Forming Intent

What journey will you map? What story will you tell? What must your icons communicate, to whom, in what context?

Rendering Intent

How will you execute it with visual clarity and consistency?

A1 Requirements

Due Day 2 (Monday, Jan 12) — bring physical sketches

  1. 5+ exploration thumbnails (distinct ideas, not variations)
  2. 1 larger, more finessed sketch (at least 8.5 × 5.5)
  3. Physical sketches to bring to class (printed if digital)

Constraints: Black & white only · No existing icon sets · Must include abstract emotions

Your sketches will be reviewed and tested by peers.

Brainstorming — Identify Problems Worth Solving

Good design starts with curiosity and empathy:

  1. Generate 5+ distinct journey ideas — dreams, stories, metaphors, processes
  2. NOT just physical directions — think about user flows through experiences
  3. Share with a neighbor: What problem does your journey address? Who would benefit?

Next up

Continue brainstorming — Refine your journey ideas

Complete A1 sketches — 5+ thumbnails + 1 larger finessed sketch

Letter to the professor — See assignment page for details

Bring physical copies — Your sketches, to Day 2 (Monday, Jan 12)

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