Upcoming Electives and Study Abroad
Winter Break Study Abroad 2022-23
Program dates: December 26, 2022 – January 15, 2023
Program locations: Singapore and Malaysia
Program directors: Professors Jae Chang and Kapila Silva
Eligibility: students in the School of Architecture and Design
Spring Break Study Abroad 2023
Spring 2023 Architecture Electives
As neighbors, Mexico and the USA have historically exercised a deep influence on each other’s contrasting cultures. This seminar analyzes the profound impact of these rich legacies in the local architectures from their inception to their current evolution.
Outcomes:
- Gaining knowledge of illustrative related historic and cultural backgrounds of both Mexico and the USA
- Understanding context as a premise for design and construction methods and their adaptation to a new environment
- Grasping the way different cultures influence architectural thought and practice
- Learning about the evolution of specific architectural trends in Mexico and the USA
- Analyzing the transformation of design conceptions in Mexico and the USA
- Familiarization with Modern architectural styles and key architects from the early origins to the current local practices
- Participants will learn to discern and dissect different components and characteristics within Mexican and American 20th century architecture and the way they relate to each other
This course introduces students to architectural historiography and preservation technology. It covers a range of curatorial issues in preservation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings. The topics include technical documentation of historic buildings, archival research, assessment of causes of deterioration and preservation needs in historic buildings, selection of preservation strategies, and techniques of building material preservation. Also covered are the integration of sustainable technologies into historic construction and examination of the ecological advantages of adaptive reuse and preservation.
This course examines the central role played by the arts of urbanism, architecture, and monumental sculpture in shaping the distinctive civic cultures of Italy from the late Middle Ages to the dawn of the Renaissance (ca. 1200-1600). It will pay particular attention to the republics of Florence, Parma, and Venice, but also consider papal Rome and Pienza, and—as time allows— sample one or two of Italy’s magnificent court cities and smaller republics (such as Milan, Ferrara, Verona, Naples, Padua, Siena).
Examine cultural beliefs and design aesthetics of the classical gardens of Japan and China. Research existing gardens and design your own!
Think, draw, and visualize architecture in line, tone, and color!
This is an intensive graphics class that teaches the basics of travel sketching, graphic journaling, and diagramming for quick client interactions. Students will learn techniques for composing multiple types of information in order to present a cohesive understanding of places observed during architectural travels. Balanced with a variety of sketching styles, students work to create multiple sketchbooks through graphic journaling. Diagramming techniques that quickly and clearly communicate design ideas will also be explored. Note: Students will be required to take part in a travel sketching session. This session will happen early on April 15th. We will depart from the Lawrence Amtrak station to Kansas City and return via train at around 10pm.
Students at all years and skill levels are welcome in this class!
Email the instructor (Jason Pittman) if you'd like a description of this course!
The Center for Design Research is focused on interdisciplinary interaction in the research and development of consumer products and services. As a working laboratory, it encourages collaboration of KU students and faculty from diverse disciplines to design imaginative – yet practical – solutions to complex problems. The CDR benefits KU and local/national communities by developing new knowledge to advance design as a tool for strategic innovation and process improvement. Modern theory-based methodologies will guide team discovery and focus the efforts of designers, engineers, scientists and business professionals in creating innovative products/services and technologies. Integrated innovation utilizes industry partners including Ford, Intel, Bayer, Sprint, Intel and more.
Open to students in any major at KU with instructor permission. To request permission to enroll, submit the web form at this link: https://deptsec.ku.edu/~sadp/form/7
Students will explore the potential of wood as a sustainable, durable, and foundational construction material. Basic traditional woodworking skills will be covered with guided exercises and one guided project. From there, students will develop their own explorations into the realm of furniture objects in an open studio format. Expectations in craft and innovation will be our emphasis, as individual projects will be guided based on student experience. All levels of experience are welcome!
This course is intended for students who are taking ARCH 600 (Solar Decathlon) in fall 2022 and wish to continue with the Solar Decathlon project for the final semester of the competition.
Open to students enrolled in ARCH 600 (Solar Decathlon) in fall 2022 without a permission number. Other interested students should email Chad Kraus to request permission to enroll.
Spring 2023 Design Electives
Topic: Design Research
Students must be admitted as a Design major in the School of Architecture and Design to enroll in this course.The Center for Design Research is focused on interdisciplinary interaction in the research and development of consumer products and services. As a working laboratory, it encourages collaboration of KU students and faculty from diverse disciplines to design imaginative – yet practical – solutions to complex problems. The CDR benefits KU and local/national communities by developing new knowledge to advance design as a tool for strategic innovation and process improvement. Modern theory-based methodologies will guide team discovery and focus the efforts of designers, engineers, scientists and business professionals in creating innovative products/services and technologies. Integrated innovation utilizes industry partners including Ford, Intel, Bayer, Sprint, Intel and more.
Meets with ARCH 600 and INDD 378. Open to students in any major at KU with instructor permission. To request permission to enroll, submit the web form at this link: https://deptsec.ku.edu/~sadp/form/7
Topic: Typographic Universe
Meets with VISC 525. In this course, you will explore the vast possibilities in manipulating typeforms and creating/drawing new ones – by hand then constructing them in the Glyphs app. Through lectures, readings, and a series of exercises you will gain a foundational understanding of the universe of font design. This semester there will be a focus on variable fonts and exploring how to make them move, promote them and use them in css.
Topic: Visual Development for Videogames
Students must be admitted as a Design major in the School of Architecture and Design to enroll in this course. This class will explore the process of creating visual assets for a videogame from initial blue-sky concepts all the way to finished production art. Students will work collaboratively with students from the school of engineering and school of music to create a functional game by the end of the semester. Students will build project planning skills, production pipeline, and experience working as part of a larger design team.
Topic: Service & UX Design
Students must be admitted as a Design major in the School of Architecture and Design to enroll in this course.Today’s products, services, systems, environments and customer experiences today are intermingled in ways that require more holistic ways of thinking and design development. The challenge of service design is to understand relevant human needs and requirements and model the service interactions in ways that are highly informed, create value, and guide technical development. This course handles matters of how, where, when, and why design can improve the value of public and private sector service experiences.
Meets with ADS 714 (Service & User Experience Design)
Topic: Design Scenarios & Simulations
Students must be admitted as a Design major in the School of Architecture and Design to enroll in this course. Organizations struggle to represent new ideas effectively and often fail to promote coordinated efforts towards innovation. Because innovation is ultimately a social phenomenon, getting stakeholders on the same page and committed to pursuing a new opportunity is both important and hard to do. Narrative design is a means to bridge conceptual gaps and depoliticize decision-making. Rapid simulation is a lively subject in the sciences, engineering, and design. Through contextual scenarios, designers can represent new opportunities in ways that visualize intent, inform decision- makers, validate buyer interest, and inspire action. This course covers the theory, methods, and practices undergirding a practical rhetoric of design. Meets with ADS 751 (Design Scenarios & Simulations)
Students must be admitted as a Design major in the School of Architecture and Design to enroll in this course. Shoe designers use their knowledge of fashion trends, materials, user profiles / experiences to create shoes for new footwear lines. The course is an introduction to shoe design methods and techniques. It provides opportunities to research industry trends, explore design concepts, patterns, materials, practice sketching designs by hand, finalize concepts in Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop, to the presentation of finished ideas. Project briefs, feedback and critiques are guided by footwear professionals from Timberland, Columbia, and New Balance.
Special topics courses in Photography vary by instructor and provide additional opportunities for interdisciplinary research and advanced specialized study. A semester grade of "C" or higher is required in order for this course to count toward the "Major Studies Electives" component of the Photography major. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: PHTO 304 with a semester grade of "C" or higher or instructor permission.
In this course you will expand your methods of photographic production and display by creating installations and treating photographs as sculptural objects. Assignments and projects will investigate digital printing materials as well as the combination of still and moving imagery. This class will meet at both East Hills KU and Chalmers. Prerequisite: Admission to the Photography Major or Minor or instructor permission
This course can count toward the requirements of the PHTO Minor.
This class introduces students to the many potentials of photographic imagery in book form, from the traditional monograph to the narrative or lyrical and experimental. Considerations of sequencing, context, text, design, materiality, meaning, and production methods will be explored through book examples, readings, discussions, and in-class exercises. The class will culminate in the design and production of a hand-made or on-demand book. Prerequisite: PHTO 304 with a grade of C or higher or declaration of the Undergraduate Certificate in Book Arts or admission to the Photography Minor or instructor permission.
This course concentrates on the traditional methods of hand typesetting, using the Department of Design's collection of lead and wood type. Learn how to use a pica rule, composing stick, leading, spacing material, the California Job Case, mix ink and operate a Vandercook proof press and C&P or Golding platen. Be inspired by visits to Special Collections. Emphasis will be placed on the acquisition of skills and the creative use of type and images. Prerequisite: BDS 101 with a semester grade of "C+" or higher or instructor permission.
Exploration of topics dealing intensively with editorial concept and format organization. Projects stress advanced problems in the integration of text and image through the development of complex and variable structures. Emphasis on thorough researching of content and audience as well as understanding of production/execution implications of solutions. Prerequisite: VISC 302 and VISC 304 with semester grades of C+ or higher or instructor permission.
This course will examine core principles and practices of environmental graphic design. Many of these concepts will be concerned with the visual aspects of wayfinding, communicating identity and information, and shaping the idea of place. Some of the topics discussed will include: signage, exhibit design, identity graphics, pictogram design, mapping, civic design and themed environments. Prerequisite: VISC 302 and VISC 304 with semester grades of "C+" or higher or instructor permission.
Students will learn to make a variety of book structures and enclosures, from historical to contemporary. Prototypes and models, as well as comprehensive notes and instructions will provide the student with a library of bindings for future reference. Students will document paper that is made in class and create a record for themselves, other students, and the Department of Design. Prerequisite: BDS 101 with a semester grade of "C+" or higher or instructor permission.