Design Camp

Instructor: Mohammad R. Dastmalchi

In this workshop students will learn more about how immersive technologies such as VR and AI work and how architects and designers utilize them throughout different phases of design. Through hands-on experience, students will learn how technology can help them gain empathy and understand how people with different disabilities experience the world - and how they can use that information and apply it in their designs. 

Students will explore a wide range of applications in VR in order to ideate and solve a design problem. Students will be asked to design a bus shelter, for which they will use VR systems to explore ideas. And finally, students get to present their work using VR.

 Instructor: Thom Allen

This immersive, week-long Minecraft workshop invites students to explore how design, architecture, and community planning come together in meaningful ways. Through guided activities, mini-lectures, and collaborative challenges, participants will use Minecraft to design individual structures, sustainable buildings, public spaces, and shared infrastructure. Each day focuses on a different aspect of the design process from basic building skills and sustainable design strategies to community spaces and connectivity culminating in a fully integrated virtual village.

Throughout the workshop, students will practice teamwork, receive peer feedback, and refine their ideas as they learn how thoughtful design can support environmental sustainability and vibrant communities. The experience concludes with a showcase event, where teams present their completed Minecraft village to family and guests, celebrating their creativity, collaboration, and newly developed design skills.

Instructor: Bona Bones

This workshop offers high school students a concise, instructor-led introduction to the foundational principles of animation. Over a one week session, participants will study and apply the twelve core principles, using industry-standard best practices. The curriculum emphasizes hands-on practice: students will storyboard, keyframe, and render a short animation that demonstrates their understanding of these concepts. By the end of the workshop, each participant will have a polished clip and a concise reference guide to support further exploration. This workshop equips students with technical competencies and critical thinking skills relevant to careers in animation, game design, film production, and digital media.

Instructor: Jay Holley

This workshop introduces students to the fundamentals of architectural and design thinking, visual storytelling, and graphic communication through the familiar and playful medium of LEGO. Students imagine a simple object or structure and develop a short narrative about its purpose, setting, and user, then bring that idea to life with a physical LEGO prototype that balances creativity and buildability. The course shifts into visual communication, exploring how three-dimensional designs become clear, engaging graphics; students create step-by-step illustrated guides and design a full-size cardboard kit box using trace paper, markers, colored pencils, and poster board. By the end of the week, each student leaves with a complete, self-designed LEGO kit model, instruction manual, and packaging that showcases their creative process and design thinking in a polished, tangible format.

Instructor: Prakash Shukla

As Kansas City hosts FIFA World Cup matches, thousands of visitors will explore the city for the first time. In this interactive workshop, students work as UX designers to create a digital food discovery experience for World Cup fans. Using sketching, storyboarding, and prototyping, students learn core UX principles and design a solution to help fans navigate KC’s food culture. No prior design or technical experience is required.

Instructor: Betsy Barnhart

This workshop is designed for students who love streetwear and fashion and who dream of designing their own sneakers. Participants will learn how professional footwear designers work, including identifying trends, building mood boards, brainstorming concepts, sketching iteratively, applying performance features, and developing distinctive style.

Students will be introduced to industry terminology, commonly used materials, and the fundamentals of athletic shoe construction. Using their own research and trend forecasting, they will design a fashion-driven athletic sneaker from concept to presentation.

By the end of the workshop, students will be able to rapidly sketch multiple ideas, create marker renderings to show colorways and materials, develop photorealistic digital drawings, choose appropriate materials, and effectively visualize their concepts. Each student will complete a final presentation and a portfolio-ready project that can strengthen any fine art or industrial design college application.

Instructor: Sam Yates Meier

Participants will explore personal branding in a workshop where they will learn about brands, logos, and graphic design. The workshop includes lectures, technology demos, and a final in-person presentation where participants share their uniquely created responsive logo system and brand assets.

Instructor: Marianne Remboldt

Create a series of surrealist worlds by constructing perspective images overlaid with collage. Students will learn the fundamentals of hand rendering 3D architectural images through one-point and two-point perspective, a technical drawing method using drafting tools. The drawings will be transformed into Surrealist worlds through collage that tell a story to viewers.