Involution Master Academy: Design Research Methods October 9, 2007

Instructor: Steve Portigal
Six Tuesday Nights from Oct. 9-Nov. 13, 2007
6:00 PM-8:00 PM
$999 for the six-week course

This course will provide first-hand knowledge and training in core design research methods. At its root, design research emphasizes learning about people and using the insights gained to inform and inspire design. We will focus on exemplary models of what research is, what it looks like, its role in concept generation, and what it produces.

Students will develop their own design research philosophy, learn how to think about people, behavior, and culture, as well as the importance of being open to new perspectives. They will also learn tactical skills they can immediately put into practice: how to conduct observations and interviews, find research participants, and interpret and synthesize results as fodder for design and storytelling.

The schedule includes:

Week 1 – Introduction to Research
Week 2 – Methods and Research Planning
Week 3 – Problem Refinement, Interviewing & Fieldwork Planning
Week 4 – Analysis & Synthesis
Week 5 – Ideation
Week 6 – Presentation

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Steve Portigal is the founder of Portigal Consulting, a boutique agency that advises market-leading brands on all of their customer-facing strategies. He has conducted hundreds of ethnographic interviews in homes, public spaces, and work places, interviewing families, hotel maintenance staff, architects, rock musicians, home-automation enthusiasts, and radiologists. Steve leverages his insight to help companies develop new features, products, services, designs, and brands. He is also an accomplished public speaker and writer, particularly for Core77 and his own blog, All This ChittahChattah. Steve has also taught Design Research at the California College of Art and is an avid photographer who curates a Museum of Foreign Grocery Products in his home.

Involution Master Academy is the first professional design school that focuses on providing practical, applied, real-world skills in micro-sized classes – never more than nine students. Every class is taught by a leading expert in their field, providing hands-on learning in a highly interactive setting. Involution Master Academy is specially designed for experienced professionals who take their career seriously.

Official Website: http://involutionstudios.com/?p=89&cat=8