Guides
Archival lexicons for novice design studentsBeginning design education often moves faster than its shared language can develop. Students may arrive with rich experience from making, work or study, yet…
Digital fabrication in foundation design educationDigital fabrication has moved from specialist workshops into foundation design studios, changing how first-year students test ideas and understand making.…
Teaching design for manufacture in introductory coursesDesign for manufacture asks introductory students to connect an idea with the materials, processes and decisions that make it producible. A sketch is only the…
Using Conference Records To Study Accreditation In Beginning DesignAccreditation shapes what schools are expected to teach, document and assess, yet its influence on first-year design can be difficult to isolate. Beginning…
Sequencing Assignments in a First-Year Design CourseA first-year design course asks students to learn several unfamiliar practices at once: observing, drawing, modelling, researching, discussing and presenting.…
The Relationship Between Craft and Concept in Foundation ProjectsFoundation design projects teach students how ideas become tangible forms. At this stage, craft is often understood as making, while concept is treated as the…
Engaging Design History for Beginning StudentsDesign history can feel distant to students who are still learning how to draw, model, prototype and explain an idea. Dates and movements may seem less urgent…
The NCBDS Archive as a Source for Contemporary Pedagogy WorkshopsBeginning design education is shaped by changing tools, studio cultures and expectations about what designers should do. The NCBDS Conference Archive offers a…
Designing for social impact in first-year studiosBeginning design studios can introduce social responsibility through modest, carefully framed projects. Students may redesign a bus-stop noticeboard, improve…
Drawing as a doorway into beginner design thinkingDesign thinking gives beginners a structured way to frame problems, explore possibilities and test ideas, but its early stages can appear inaccessible when…