The course IPRO-305 is geared towards giving the students practical product development experience by addressing the problem statement provided by the workshop sponsor (and our client), Honeywell,... Show moreThe course IPRO-305 is geared towards giving the students practical product development experience by addressing the problem statement provided by the workshop sponsor (and our client), Honeywell, Inc. During the course of this workshop, we will implement the formative stages of a user-centered design process by developing and prototyping design concepts based on an understanding of existing social networks in small business communities in two neighborhoods, Pilsen/Little Village in Chicago and Powai in Mumbai. The goal will be to develop product, communication or service designs that contribute to increasing prosperity and small business growth within the Chicago and Mumbai neighborhoods. This project will be undertaken in collaboration with graduate students at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-Bombay) and their Industrial Design Centre, (comparable to IIT Institute of Design), as well as staff at Honeywell in Bangalore and Minneapolis. By working on this project students, both undergraduate IPRO students and graduate IIT, Chicago’s design school students are intended to gain proficiency in remote research methods and collaborating with your contemporaries abroad on a global design project. The flavor of this effort will be a practical or professional one, working towards implementation and design refinement. At the end of this experience, all participating students should have: 1. a solid understanding of methods and artifacts necessary to conduct design research internationally 2. experience in applying design and business practices to economic development issues 3 3. a basic understanding of existing social networks in 2 small business communities and how design can help address these 4. established professional relationships with Indian designers who share a human-centered mindset 5. a portfolio-ready project, complete with a recognizable client Show less
