The Art and Design course numbers have identical content, assignments, and grading rubrics.

Students can expect teamwork in addition to the pursuit of their individual research directions under shared guidance by both instructors.

Our course considers making as RADICAL because we acknowledge that creating is an entangled web of ideological and material/skill-based considerations, which connect to how we see ourselves in the world and how we acknowledge other actants, both human and non-human. We will see how individual and communal production originate from these considerations and how the process and products of making come to form the basis of cultures.

Course Goals

Gather a toolkit of making strategies through practice and experimentation.
Practice problem solving while conceptualizing, designing and building an artifact for each project.
Understand the artifact’s life span from cradle to cradle, including its resources/materials, tools and processes, its use, repair, and possible obsolescence.
Share your knowledge. Develop your ability to work as part of a team.
Discuss, evaluate, and critique existing models of radical making. Conceptualize viable alternatives and guiding principles.

GRADING

Your final grade will be determined by the following:

Assignment #1 (See details in Assignment grading + meeting assignment check-points, and general preparedness for class) 15%

Assignment #2 (See details in Assignment grading + meeting assignment check-points, and general preparedness for class) 25%

Project #3 (See details in Assignment grading + meeting assignment check-points, and general preparedness for class) 35%

Small Homework Assignments + Participation (active contributions made to in-class activities, such as discussions, workshops, critiques). 15%

Professional manner (individual effort, commitment, progress) and Progress 10%

Evaluation

Assignment grading will be based on the following criteria:

Ideation: Research and Thought Process (including check point #1: reading/research notes; mood-boards, assignment journals, and planning notes)
Design: Wholistic Considerations of material, functional, environmental and socio-cultural implications (including check point #2: mock-ups and models);
Development & Documentation (including check point #3: tangible evidences of problem solving and progress: material tests. Evidence of complexity (appropriateness to assignment criteria and personal goals, considerations for materials, scale and presentation);
Craft: fluency with the demonstrated techniques from each assignment + use of additional making techniques;
Experimentation: Going beyond basic solutions, exploring further material, technical, functional, and interdisciplinary potentials. Exhibiting drive and passion for the project.

Note: Feedback and evaluation of the finished assignment is done during class presentation and critique. Scores on Canvas are a form of documenting the main points of the feedback and evaluating the project by the above listed set of criteria. It is important that you consult the rubric to see which areas need more attention, and thus, improvement, and which are those that have been most successful.

The maximum to earn on each criterium is 10pts.

In general, for each project: SHOW, DON'T TELL - Have material evidences of your project's progress + visuals that help us understand how the project will live.

Learning Goals and Requirements in the Skill-Building Workshops

There are plenty of opportunities for learning new skills and developing your craft in this course. Throughout the quarter several mini workshops will be offered "a la carte" (e.g. woodshop, advanced materials lab, sewing, etc.). Each student is required to select and take at least 3 different workshops from these options. The workshop itself teaches the basic equipment use and safety. At the end of the workshop, participants fill out user acknowledgement and safety quizzes, which will allow them to use the shop and the tools on their own. Students without workshop user acknowledgement and safety quizzes are not allowed to use the shops for making.

In addition to the minimum 3 "a la carte" mini workshops of your individual choice, a variety of guest artist (Emily Endo and Lily Hope) workshops are planned. These workshops are longer and more comprehensive, focusing on special skills that is connected to material sensibility and cultural interconnectivity. Each student's participation in these is required.

There is an expectation that useful skills picked up in these two kinds of workshops will be used in current and upcoming projects in this course.

Workshop skills may be used in either of your projects, including team projects. Additional tutorials and demos are available upon request. Please plan ahead and contact instructors/technicians early. Expect extra time for scheduling and getting help.

Course fee

A course fee of $55 is used to invite speakers, to provide access to some of the workshops and some basic materials for the class to use. Please expect $10-40 additional materials cost, depending on your project.