Final Journal for Design 200

So this is my last entry in regards to my Design 200 class with Gabe Tippery, though my blog will continue with whatever design stuff I think of and related to EcoCAR.

Design 200 was a very good introductory course that starts at the level of minimal design knowledge. We go through some history, basic theories of design, such as color theory, typography and of the like. Gabe also gave a unique twist to teaching this course by using Social Media as a learning tool, whether it be just researching a topic and writing a blog about it or making a youtube video, utilizing creativity and imagination. This I think was part of what made my interest in Gabe's class amongst the top. The final course project was very fun and gave a chance for us students to get thinking like a designer and going through the process it takes to design and present an idea effectively.

Overall I enjoyed his teaching and the course. A couple things I would like to comment on would be: First I really appreciated Gabe breaking the awkward silence the first couple days of class by asking us to introduce ourselves to the person sitting next you. That created a very comfortable learning atmosphere. The next thing was the unfortunate shyness of the class. While we were all about getting to know each other, when it came to discussion, it usually went silent. Granted I could have said something myself in attempt to start a discussion, I felt as if no one else would speak their mind. So my challenge to Gabe would be to find a way to make interaction easier and more common. An idea would be to have some discussion topics ready for the class that pertain to the topic. Now everything is not discussion worthy and a solid lecture is adequate, but for example when we watched the RIP! A Remix Manifesto it would have been interesting to see what everyone thought about it.

Other than that I don't have much more to say. Once again, thanks for the fun course!

-amorgan