Future Studio: Design Incubator (DA4206.01)
Robert Ransick
Credits: 4
W 8:20am – 12:00pm
This course is conceived and structured as a small incubator for product and business development. Modeled after the Bennington Plan, which is inherently entrepreneurial, Future Studio engages business as a creative space that marries inquiry-based idea development, design, technology and new business models to generate constructive social purpose. The course will progress over the term from idea development to prototype to market analysis and business planning. The studio values creativity, innovation, place-centered economies, worker-centered ownership, environmental sustainability, social justice and financial viability.
The goal is to develop ideas and create prototypes that may lead to the creation of new ventures that have the potential to move beyond the academic structure and be launched as a viable businesses into the world. We will employ future scenario research and analysis to help guide our work. Students will work individually and in collaborative teams.
Students who are interested in rethinking what it means to be in business today, possess an interest in the promise of the near future and have skills and knowledge from any of the following discipline areas are especially encouraged to participate: Digital Arts, Design, Sculpture, Architecture, Computing, Psychology, Mathematics, Environment or Anthropology.
This course may include opportunities for FWT 2016
Skills:
Each student will bring and leave with a different set of skills. This is by design, and part of what will help the studio function most effectively. All participants in the studio will share their existing and newly formed knowledge openly and freely. Students will naturally gravitate towards skills they have or discover an affinity towards, including the development of technical abilities, design skills, or capabilities as a leader. Together, all members of the studio will also work on a common set of skills, including:
-Idea generation
-Market analysis
-Fundamentals of business, organization, and business structures
-Communication and collaboration in a creative and business setting
-Awareness of emerging technology areas, such as the Internet of Things
-Design literacy (screen and user experience)
-Entrepreneurship
-Basic financial models and principles necessary to sustain business
Format:
We will meet as a studio on Wednesdays mornings. The lunch time may be used to continue discussion as a group (if desired) and I suggest holding this time in your calendar for possible group work etc.
The first few weeks will be utilized to build a collective consciousness and curiosity related to core business principles and aggressively working on idea development. This time period will consist of informed discussion, as well as in- and out-of-class activities related to the subject matter.
After a core understanding and ideas are developed, the studio format will evolve to in order to develop the objectives defined by studio members. This will include a variety of activities including brainstorming sessions, small-group discussions, design sessions, development work, strategy sessions, knowledge-sharing sessions, or other such activities. As a studio, we will maintain and discuss our schedule, objectives and format as the enterprise progresses.
Workload:
Workload for Future Studio may vary widely from week to week – rather than simply progress through a series of lessons, the studio will be working to research and develop ideas and prototypes for products and businesses. Few endeavors of this sort observe a regular rhythm, and defining the future is different from predicting the future – as will be reflected in the workload.
Research/Wiki
All students are required to maintain a personal wiki site for this class. This space should act as an electronic journal and contain your research, summaries of all the class readings (must be posted by Tuesday at 2:00PM) and documentation of work. Individual and group pages are to be updated regularly (weekly). Each student is responsible for viewing and commenting on all student pages.
In addition, there is a glossary section on the wiki and whenever you come across a term that is unfamiliar, look up the definition and post it there too.
http://wiki.bennington.edu/Future_Studio
Textbook:
There is no textbook required for this class. However, previous (summer) reading and continued research includes:
–Owning Our Future: The Emerging Ownership Revolution (book) by Marjorie Kelly
Monitor business and design trends via news sources (there are many more, but this is a good start):
–Fast Company
–Business Insider
–Harvard Business Review
–Hacker News
–Core 77
–CoolHunting
–Good Magazine
–Make Magazine
–PSKF Design & Architecture
–Solving for Pattern
Additional readings, case studies and other materials will be provided in class over the course of the term.
Requirements:
-Above all, members of Future Studio will be committed to maintaining a respectful, constructive, and collaborative environment for all.
-Members will attend ALL scheduled meetings (class and otherwise), or must communicate their absence in advance. No absence is excused, and more than two absences may result in dismissal from the studio. If you must miss a class, email the instructor before the start of class.
-All members will contribute to the fullest extent of their talents, and challenge themselves beyond their boundaries. Complacency or free riding have no place here.
-Members will be honest and communicative in their work and association.
-Members will work to resolve conflicts fairly and maturely, and work to de-escalate tension during difficult times.
-Cliché, but: we will work extremely hard, and also have a lot of fun.
Evaluation:
-Participation / attitude
-Communication
-Collaboration
-Creative / conceptual / technical work and individual progress over the entire course.
-Overall contribution to the enterprise
There may also be periodic 1:1 (or 2:1 etc.) check-ins over the course of the term to discuss performance and progress.
Getting Help: I am available during office hours, by appointment, or via email. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions, issues, or ideas you may have. It is easier to solve small problems earlier, rather than grapple with large problems later.
Jackson Moore, the Digital Arts technician, and Michael Stradley, 3D Technologist, are also available to assist students. They can be reached by email. Pod/facility information can be found here: http://pod.bennington.edu/
Timeline (Fall):
Part 1: The Playing Field: Research, Observation, Ideas
Alternate Business forms/generative economy
Business cases/profiles
Strategy
Looking for opportunities/idea development
Part 2: Prototype: Play the Future
Future Scenario Research and Design
Idea refinement
Technical instruction/support
Experience prototyping/paper prototyping
Critical analysis
Part 3: Create: Revise and Ready
Select idea(s) to develop robust prototype
Design considerations
Preparation for next steps
The end result shall be ideas that have been developed to the point of a prototype or early design that can be further developed as a business after the term ends.