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Architecture, Interior Architecture, & Designed Objects

Master of Design in Designed Objects

Master of Design in Designed Objects

The Master of Design in Designed Objects (MDDO) is a professional degree program with a structured curriculum that offers students the critical skills to imagine and create meaningful design objects, systems, and experiences while challenging the boundaries of the field of design itself.

Redefining Object Design

Designers reimagine the objects and systems that mediate our daily lives. Through a critical appraisal of product, furniture, interaction, and systems design, the MDDO program teaches designers to be agents of change who maintain an expansive understanding of the object. Future designers need to be enlightened practitioners, willing to explore unknown territory and work with problems not yet defined. The program encourages students to challenge the fluid borderline that outlines design, opening the field to unexpected possibilities. MDDO students are encouraged to develop their practice by taking elective courses in other departments across SAIC and by applying to AIADO’s External Partnership Courses.

Alumni of the MDDO program have attained success and professional experience in a diverse range of careers from product and furniture design, user experience design, creative direction, design research and strategy, design education and independent design practice.

Master of Design in Designed Objects Curriculum

The Master of Design in Designed Objects (MDDO) is a two-year, 66 credit hour program with a carefully sequenced course-based curriculum, built for students who seek immersion in the critical and technical skills specific to the extended practice of object design.

  • MDDO Degree Requirements and Specifications

    • Completion schedule: Students have a maximum of four years to complete the master of design degree program. This includes time off for leaves of absence.
    • Transfer credit: Generally transfer credits are not accepted. All requests for transfer credits are reviewed individually by the chair of the department at the time of admission and are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.
    • Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 12 credit hours
    TermCredit Hours
    First Year Summer Intensive     6
    • DESOB 5050 Refresh: Summer Intensive (6)
    		 
    First Year Fall    15
    • DESOB 5150 Studio 1: Reset (3)
    • DESOB 5152 Research Methods Lab (3)
    • DESOB 5164 Material Intelligence Studio Seminar (3)
    • ARTHI 5120 Survey of Modern and Contemporary Arch. and Design (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    First Year Spring15
    • DESOB 5160 Studio 2: Discover (6)
    • DESOB 5162 Prototyping Methods Lab (3)
    • ARTHI 5105 Theories of Things: Art / Design / Objects (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 

    Second Year Fall    		15
    • DESOB 6150 Thesis Studio 1: Initiate (6)
    • DESOB 6154 Material Futures Studio Seminar (3)
    • ARTHI 6120 Critical Issues in Designed Objects (3)
    • Elective
    		 

    Second Year Spring    		15
    • DESOB 6160 Thesis Studio 2: Manifest (6)
    • DESOB 6162 Positioning Methods Lab (3)
    • Elective (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 

    Participation in four graduate critiques, including departmental critiques and interdisciplinary critique in the final year of study    		 

    Participation in Graduate Design Exhibition    		 

    Total Credit Hours    		66

MDDO Versus MFA

In contrast to the structured curriculum of the MDDO, the two-year Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Studio, Designed Objects is for students looking for a self-directed program of independent study.  Students work with faculty advisors on a one to one basis each semester to pursue a range of design projects that reflect their specific interests. Applicants are expected to have previous experience and a strong portfolio in three-dimensional design practice, and the ability to self-manage an extended program of independent study.

Courses

Title Catalog Instructor Schedule

Description

Sketching is one of a designer's most crucial skills, integral to both generating focused ideas and presenting them across commercial, responsible, and experimental design. This course develops students' freehand sketching to communicate a design's form and function.
An introductory course in Designed Objects, it welcomes students of all levels and has no prerequisites.

Each skill is taught in class and refined in one-on-one sessions. Students practice thumbnail sketching, shading, and form development, building from lines, ellipses, and cubes into more complex forms. Methods include 'Form, Divide, Beautify' and concept pages. The course also covers orthographic projection for precise technical drawings, two-point perspective for objects in space, and digital sketching on the iPad.

Students focus on objects and how they are made, working through a progression of design problems, from form families to multi-part exploded assemblies and objects in use. They study how materials such as soft goods, glass, concrete, and wood read on the page and are introduced to design-for-manufacture concepts. The course also includes a visiting designer who shares their approach and a field trip to an industrial design studio.

Class Number

1273

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1240

Description

Nearly everything designers create demands interaction: reading screens, operating objects, navigating spaces, or interpreting responses over time. As interaction spans physical, digital, and spatial realms, communicating how experiences behave is a fundamental design skill. This course introduces methods to visualize interaction, from initial storyboards to tested proposals.
Intended early in the Designed Objects sequence, this core skills studio has no prerequisites and requires no prior interface design or interactive prototyping experience.
Students build storyboards, user journeys, and flow diagrams to map human movement through systems. Using Figma, they construct and animate low- and high-fidelity prototypes, applying principles of layout, typography, visual hierarchy, and motion. Prototypes undergo user testing and iterative refinement based on observation and feedback.
Coursework introduces established interface patterns and UI kits to adapt and extend. Accessibility standards and ergonomic considerations integrate throughout the design process. AI tools assist iteration and alternative development, teaching students to evaluate outputs and apply design judgment.
By course end, students complete one interactive experience from storyboard to working, user-tested prototype. They leave equipped to make interactions legible before construction, demonstrating, testing, and defending how designs behave beyond mere visual appearance.

Class Number

1277

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Digital Communication

Location

Sullivan Center 1407

Description

Designed Objects Core Studio 1 introduces students to design as an intentional practice oriented toward people beyond themselves. The studio centers on the shift from self-directed making to designing with responsibility toward users, contexts, and real-world constraints.
Work in this studio is primarily analog and hands-on. Students develop ideas through observation, sketching, physical mockups, and full-scale prototyping. The studio introduces a builder mindset, framing making and fabrication as ways of generating insight rather than simply executing ideas. Digital tools are introduced selectively to support thinking and making rather than to define the work. Students learn two-dimensional CAD workflows using vector tools to develop patterns, layouts, and templates for 3D mockups and prototypes, exploring form and proportion.
Emphasis is placed on translating insight into form and testing ideas through iteration. Prototypes are used to ask questions, reveal assumptions, and gather feedback. Critique is introduced as a collaborative process focused on clarity of intent and use.
By the end of the studio, students understand that design always addresses an ¿other,¿ and that building¿whether with cardboard, foam, or digital files¿is a primary way designers think, test, and learn.
This studio is for students beginning their product design studies, including those new to design, fabrication, or digital tools. It is best taken early in the Designed Objects curriculum alongside core skills courses such as Sketching, Digital Modeling, and Designing Interaction.

Class Number

1268

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1226

Description

Designed Objects Core Studio 1 introduces students to design as an intentional practice oriented toward people beyond themselves. The studio centers on the shift from self-directed making to designing with responsibility toward users, contexts, and real-world constraints.
Work in this studio is primarily analog and hands-on. Students develop ideas through observation, sketching, physical mockups, and full-scale prototyping. The studio introduces a builder mindset, framing making and fabrication as ways of generating insight rather than simply executing ideas. Digital tools are introduced selectively to support thinking and making rather than to define the work. Students learn two-dimensional CAD workflows using vector tools to develop patterns, layouts, and templates for 3D mockups and prototypes, exploring form and proportion.
Emphasis is placed on translating insight into form and testing ideas through iteration. Prototypes are used to ask questions, reveal assumptions, and gather feedback. Critique is introduced as a collaborative process focused on clarity of intent and use.
By the end of the studio, students understand that design always addresses an ¿other,¿ and that building¿whether with cardboard, foam, or digital files¿is a primary way designers think, test, and learn.
This studio is for students beginning their product design studies, including those new to design, fabrication, or digital tools. It is best taken early in the Designed Objects curriculum alongside core skills courses such as Sketching, Digital Modeling, and Designing Interaction.

Class Number

1276

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1240

Description

As products incorporate increasingly complex displays, functionality, and intelligence, their usability can become a challenge. This studio-seminar explores methods for designing intuitive and effective interfaces that enhance both the usability and overall experience of a device. Through presentations, discussions, and hands-on exercises, students will analyze existing interfaces and devices, identifying strengths and weaknesses in their design. The course emphasizes the integration of user interface (UI) and industrial design (ID) to create seamless, visually cohesive, and functionally intuitive products. Students will engage in critical evaluation of real-world examples and apply digital media tools to prototype the interface and interaction components of their own design projects. Key topics include understanding user behavior, mapping device functionality, designing appropriate two-way communication, and developing graphic elements that support usability. By the end of the course, students will have a deeper understanding of interface design as a critical factor in product development, enabling them to craft more user-centered, visually compelling, and engaging product experiences.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Sophomore-level or above.

Class Number

1285

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Digital Communication, Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1227

Description

Core Studio 2 focuses on how material, form, and interaction shape experience over time. Building on the foundations of designing for others, this studio deepens students¿ engagement with making, refinement, and use.
Students work extensively with physical materials, exploring construction, surface, finish, and detail as communicative elements. Here, students deepen their builder practice by working through material constraints, assemblies, and refinement, learning how construction decisions shape experience. Digital tools are more fully integrated into the workflow, with 3D modeling used to develop form, assemblies, and tolerances, and 2D CAD supporting patternmaking, layouts, and fabrication planning. Sketching remains central as a means of refining proportion and communicating intent.
Interaction is introduced as a temporal and physical experience, encompassing affordance, sequence, and feedback. Prototyping emphasizes iteration and refinement, with students moving between digital models and physical builds to test how objects are handled, activated, and interpreted.
This studio reinforces building as a disciplined design practice, where material decisions, craft, and structure communicate meaning as clearly as form or function.

Who this course is for
This studio is for students who have completed Core Studio 1 and are ready to deepen their engagement with materials, construction, and use. It is well suited to students who want to strengthen their ability to design objects that are experienced through touch, handling, and interaction over time.

When to take it
Core Studio 2 is typically taken after Core Studio 1. The studio is designed to run alongside the core skills courses¿Designing Interaction, Sketching, and 3D Modeling¿reinforcing the integration of material exploration, digital workflows, visualization, and prototyping. Students are strongly encouraged to have taken, or to be concurrently enrolled in, a digital modeling core skills course, as 3D modeling is used regularly throughout the studio.

This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Prerequisites

Pre: DES OB 1006 or 2020

Class Number

1269

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1226

Description

This course introduces Rhino as a form-driven, exploratory 3D modeling tool used widely in product, furniture, and spatial design. Modeling is approached as a way of thinking through form, proportion, and iteration within a broader production-focused design process.

Students learn core Rhino workflows including curve construction, solid and basic surface modeling, transformations, and file preparation for visualization and fabrication. The course also introduces foundational digital workflows such as preparing models for 3D printing, creating 2D drawings for laser cutting, and producing rendered images in KeyShot to communicate design intent.

Through a series of design projects, students use Rhino to explore object form, refine ideas through iteration, and translate digital models into physical and visual outputs. Emphasis is placed on clarity of form, thoughtful revision, and understanding how digital modeling supports the development and communication of design proposals.

When and why to take this course:
Students are encouraged to take this course as early as possible, ideally before or alongside Designed Objects Studio 2. Rhino is used throughout the curriculum and supports iterative form development in studio work. Rhino and SolidWorks are both primary 3D modeling tools used in professional design practice. Students are encouraged to take both courses over time; however, completing either Rhino or SolidWorks provides a strong foundation in digital formmaking. Skills developed in either platform translate across tools and support broader design workflows.

Class Number

1270

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Digital Communication, Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1407

Description

This course introduces SolidWorks as a parametric, constraint-based 3D modeling tool widely used in product development and manufacturing-oriented design. Emphasis is placed on using modeling to define design intent, dimensional relationships, and functional requirements, supporting clarity, precision, and repeatability in complex objects and systems. SolidWorks is widely regarded as a standard professional 3D modeling tool in industrial design, supporting workflows common in corporate, consulting, and manufacturing-focused practice.
Students learn core SolidWorks workflows including sketch-based feature modeling, parametric constraints, part and assembly creation, and basic documentation practices. The course focuses on how dimensions, constraints, and features work together to support functional performance, mechanical relationships, and downstream production needs.

Through approximately three design projects, students develop objects with multiple components, test relationships between parts, and communicate designs through structured models and drawings. Projects emphasize precision, decision-making, and the translation of design concepts into clearly defined systems rather than open-ended formal exploration.

When to take this course:
Students are strongly encouraged to take this course as early as possible. 3D CAD is used regularly beginning in Designed Objects Studio 2 (DO2) and across many topical studio electives. Early exposure allows students to integrate modeling directly into studio work. SolidWorks is especially useful for students interested in later-stage design development and production-oriented electives.

Who this course is for:
This course is ideal for students interested in mechanical systems, assemblies, and production-ready design. Alongside Sketching for Designed Objects and Designing Interaction, this course is part of the Designed Objects core skills group supporting the Core Studio sequence. Completion of either SolidWorks or Rhino fulfills the core 3D modeling expectation for the Designed Objects program. Designers in professional practice often specialize in one primary modeling platform while developing transferable modeling concepts that apply across tools.

Class Number

1271

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1226

Description

A seminar for designers who want to imagine, question, and prototype new futures. This course explores how design can shape the future of learning, culture, and experience through applied imagination grounded in research, empathy, and storytelling. Each semester focuses on a distinct theme while sharing a common approach that expands design beyond problem solving toward investigation, reflection, and creative foresight.. Drawing from speculative and critical design, learning experience design, and contextual research, students study cultural, social, material, and environmental contexts to understand how systems shape experience. Through narrative, scenario building, and worldbuilding, they test ideas and envision alternative ways of living and making meaning, creating designed artifacts and experiences that express how design can shape the world¿s evolution.

Class Number

2217

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Digital Communication, Product Design, Sustainable Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1226

Description

This advanced studio investigates the design and construction of soft objects, a category spanning softgoods, upholstery, and experimental forms. Students will explore how textiles, padding, and flexible materials shape products for the body, home, and space. Techniques include pattern drafting, sewing, upholstery methods, stuffing, quilting, and bonding, paired with analog and digital workflows for prototyping.
Weekly workshops build technical fluency, while studio projects challenge students to apply these skills toward both functional and speculative outcomes.
In addition, the course provides a snapshot of how softgoods are developed in the design and fashion industries, examining methods of branding, production, and consumption. Students will also consider how these systems influence design practice today.
The semester is structured around two main projects: the first focuses on a softgood or body-related object, while the second scales up to a furniture or spatial soft object, or an experimental hybrid that expands the role of softness in design. This studio elective is intended for design-focused sophomores and above, who have taken design-related courses. The projects will be developed with portfolio presentation in mind.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Sophomore-level or above.

Class Number

2216

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Designed Objects, Furniture Design, Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1230

Description

This interdisciplinary studio class investigates the intersection of printmedia, artists¿ multiples and packaging as an entry point into making and thinking about multiples as a format for studio production. The history of artists¿ multiples (loosely defined as small-scale editioned or multiply produced three-dimensional works) includes many examples that use, or appropriate, printed elements and packaging in some way. This history, along with our daily experience of packaging (the many boxes, folders, labels, pamphlets, flyers and cartons found in nearly every aspect of contemporary life) offers a wealth of connections to consider and work from.
Students will be introduced to a range of printing and paper construction techniques within the Printmedia studio. These include hand-drawn and digital plate lithography, pattern layout and construction for packaging along with other selected tools and techniques.
In addition, students will have the opportunity to use SAIC labs such as the Service Bureau and digital fabrication centers. Examples of multiples, short readings, and a visit to the Joan Flasch or other related collections will support project development and discussion.
Students can expect to complete three to four projects and participate in two critiques.

Class Number

1281

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

280 Building Rm 221

Description

Digital fabrication is integral to how objects are designed and produced. This technical studio teaches students to prepare, program, set up, and safely operate a CNC mill, and to determine when machining, hand processes, or both best serve a project. Students develop the independence to use CNC milling in subsequent courses.

The course supports furniture, product design, sculpture, and other object-based work. Experience with 3D CAD modeling is required; familiarity with Rhino is recommended. No prior CNC experience is required.

Demonstrations, technical exercises, and open shop time introduce profiling, pocketing, three-axis machining, and flip milling. Instruction addresses toolpaths, workholding, tolerances, material behavior, and the fit of parts. Later projects apply these skills to prototyping and form development.

Students work with woods, plastics, foams, and waxes to cut finished parts and produce masters, patterns, and molds for casting and forming. Coursework examines the appearance of machined forms, industrial applications, and questions of authorship and ownership in file-based production.

The course concludes with a project related to each student¿s practice. Students learn to move from a CAD model to a milled part, tool, or finished object, and to assess how CNC milling can support their work alongside other approaches to making.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Must be a sophomore or above.

Class Number

2390

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1242

Description

Furniture shapes how we sit, gather, work, and inhabit space. This studio introduces furniture as both a design category and a fabrication discipline, grounding students in form, proportion, structural logic, material behavior, and full-scale making.

Working primarily in wood, with selective use of light metals, students develop fluency in essential shop processes including joinery, machine operation, lathe turning, and iterative full-scale prototyping. Emphasis is placed on human scale and performance: how the body informs dimension, how materials carry load, and how construction decisions shape both function and meaning.

Projects progress from focused material and joinery studies to resolved furniture pieces. Making is treated as a mode of thinking, with mockups and prototypes used to test, refine, and evaluate ideas through direct engagement with materials.

A primary objective of the course is to build sustained confidence working in the Sullivan Fabrication Center, integrating shop practice into the design process and establishing fabrication as a core component of work at SAIC.

This course is for students seeking foundational experience in furniture design and full-scale fabrication, including Designed Objects students preparing for advanced studios such as Chair Studio and Advanced Furniture, as well as students from Sculpture, Fiber, Fashion, Architecture, and related disciplines. It is typically taken in the second year as a gateway to advanced furniture coursework and pairs well with CNC, with no prior furniture experience required.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Sophomore-level or above.

Class Number

2389

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Furniture Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1242

Description

Within a structured studio environment, advanced-level students develop, refine, and execute an individual furniture concept. Students progress from the conceptual design stage, through design development to the actualization of a work that can be `tested? for public review. Students are challenged to develop concise and persuasive arguments regarding the motivation, development, execution, and dissemination of their design project. Through the articulation and advocacy of their design work, students define their role as a dynamic catalyst operating within real-world social-, political-, monetary-, and cultural-economies. Students are admitted via a portfolio application reviewed by the faculty.

Prerequisites

DESOB 4025

Class Number

1279

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1242

Description

SAIC Design @ Homan Square combines professional practice design experience with community activism. Operating out of SAIC's facility in the Nichols tower at Homan Square, the course engages students in a focused dialogue on social project implementation in Chicago and provides the tools and frameworks to realize those projects. Functioning as a pro bono 'design consultancy' where the residents, small businesses and community groups of North Lawndale act as 'clients', each job is treated as a discrete project involving research, knowledge-sharing and design action. The projects will cover a two-semester cycle, with each semester being offered as an independent class. This course, running in the Spring semester, will emphasize the last three stages of the design thinking process; ideation, prototyping, and testing. course class will focus on proposing and implementing solutions that address the contextual research carried out in the first semester. These solutions will be presented to, and critiqued by, the 'clients' who are the main stakeholders, North Lawndale community leaders, as well as SAIC faculty. Recognizing that making is a research process that reveals new problems, the reflexive activity of proposing, making, presenting and critiquing solutions generates new knowledge as well as physical outcomes. It is this collective 'new intelligence' that is the primary goal of the course.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Sophomore-level or above.

Class Number

1275

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Collaboration, Community & Social Engagement, Economic Inequality & Class

Location

Sullivan Center 1258

Description

Whatnot Studio is a year-long advanced studio in which students design, produce, and publicly present a collection for Whatnot, the school¿s in-house product brand. The course is structured around a complete design cycle, moving from concept development through small-batch production to a fully realized retail and exhibition environment.
Working from an annual theme, students develop individual products that contribute to a cohesive collection. Emphasis is placed on translating ideas into producible designs, with attention to material decisions, fabrication methods, and the constraints of small-batch manufacturing. Unlike most undergraduate studios, the course extends through production, requiring students to fabricate a pilot run of their work rather than a single prototype.
In parallel, students collaborate to define the identity of the collection and design a branded retail installation to showcase the work. This includes spatial design, display systems, and communication strategies that position the collection for a public audience. The studio culminates in a major external presentation, with the collection exhibited at a leading design fair or trade show.
Throughout the year, students develop an individual design voice while working collectively to produce a unified, high-quality outcome. The course emphasizes design as both authorship and collaboration, and as a process that extends beyond form-making to include production, context, and audience.
Enrollment is by portfolio review and is open to advanced undergraduate and graduate students.
Please submit a portfolio of work by the end of day on Monday, April 27 to this link: https://airtable.com/app10LexPLHEqM7mV/pagcVlilryi7Xn4Or/form
Accepted students will then be enrolled in the course.

For more information, contact Jim TerMeer (jterme@saic.edu) or Gionata Gatto (ggatt@saic.edu). This course is best taken in the final year of study, once students have developed confidence in their design process and are ready to carry a project through to production and public presentation.

Class Number

1274

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1230

Description

Research is the foundation of an informed design process and this lab helps students understand the ways in which research can add value to the practice of design. Students will be introduced to a variety of methods, strategies, frameworks and tools for the capturing, synthesis and translation of varied research material. By demonstrating how primary and secondary methods can be utilized, this class provides a practical guide to navigating the ways in which research can be integrated into the design process as a source of inspiration, a method of knowledge building, and a means of testing assumptions. You must be a Master of Design in Designed Objects student to enroll in this course.

Readings and references will vary but have included: Design Research Through Practice: From the Lab, Field, and Showroom, Ilpo Koskinen, John Zimmerman, Thomas Binder, Johan Redstrom, Stephan Wensveen, Elsevier, 2011
Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights, Steve Portigal, Rosenfield, 2013
Mapping Experiences: A Complete Guide to Creating Value through Journeys, Blueprints, and Diagrams, Jim Kalbach,
Research for Designers: A Guide to Methods and Practice, Gjoko Muratovski, Sage, 2016'

Each class will typically consist of a lecture, discussion, critique, and/or in-class activities followed with assignments to be completed by the next class. Readings will be assigned to supplement lectures and inform discussions.

Class Number

2215

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1228

Description

Taken every semester, the Graduate Projects courses allow students to focus in private sessions on the development of their work. Students register for 6 hours of Graduate Project credit in each semester of study.

Prerequisites

Open to MFA, MFAW and MAVCS students only

Class Number

1910

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Description

In the final thesis studio, students confirm and materialize their position and voice as designers by completing their self-selected thesis project initiated in DES OB 6150 -- Thesis Studio 1.Through an intensive period of seminar and tutorial discussion, prototyping, presentation and critique, students produce highly developed designed objects, systems, and experiences that critically engage specific areas of design, technology, and culture. Emphasis is given to determining potent vehicles through which the instance of the thesis is tested, exhibited and engages public consciousness. The course culminates in a thesis defense and the presentation of a final thesis project at the SAIC Design Show.


You must be a Master of Design in Designed Objects Student to enroll in this course.

Prerequisites

Prereq: DES OB 6150

Class Number

1887

Credits

6

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1228

Description

Life after design school could reveal vast diversity beyond traditional employment opportunities, such as working for a design consultancy, as an in-house designer, or independently. Positioning Methods Lab is designed to help students shape their portfolio into various formats, focusing primarily on each students? specific future goals, and establishing a promotional strategy that feels authentic and attuned to their personal form of world-making.

Readings and screenings will vary but will include foundational and instructional readings such as:
Elements of Typographic Style by Bringhurst Grid Systems/Raster Systeme by Josef Muller-Brockmann
The Crystal Goblet by Beatrice Ward On Punctuation by Gertrude Stein My website is a shifting house next to a river of knowledge. What could yours be? by Laurel Schwulst

As well as an introduction to various tools and resources such as:
Are.na, Cargo Collective, the SAIC Service Bureau, the SAIC Writing Center, and various file formats and structure for print and web.

In addition to completing weekly assignments and readings, students should expect to finish the class with a resume, portfolio in either printed or PDF form, as well as a personal website of work.

Prerequisites

Open to graduate level students only.

Class Number

1886

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1231

Master of Design in Designed Objects Application and Admissions Information

  • Reduced Application Fee Deadline: December 1—$45 Application Fee
    Application Deadline: January 10—$90 Application Fee
    Apply Online

    SAIC requires applicants to apply online. Filing an online application requires a valid credit card and a current email address. You may apply to up to three programs with one application and fee.

    Applications must be submitted prior to 11:00 p.m. (CST) on the appropriate deadline. When you click the "submit" button on the Graduate Application form, you will be prompted to enter credit card information to pay the application fee. Your application form is not fully submitted until you have entered your credit card information.

    Under no circumstances will an application fee be refunded. After you submit the application form, there will be a waiting period until you are able to see the program-specific application(s) in your portal.  

    Once your program-specific applications are available, for each program you will be able to submit your program-specific application requirements (writing sample or portfolio), request the required recommendations, and see any additional checklist items.

  • A conferred four-year baccalaureate degree or its equivalent is required for admission to all graduate programs at SAIC. Transcripts are records of your studies that list the courses you completed, the grades received, and provide evidence of degree conferral. They may include grade sheets, exam results, final diplomas, degrees, or graduation certificates. Official copies are issued in the original language directly by your university. Copies must bear the official stamp or seal of the institution, as well as the signature of the appropriate official such as the dean, rector, registrar, controller of examinations, or office of teaching affairs. Photos, notarized copies, facsimiles, or email transmissions are not acceptable.

    Official translations are expected for all educational documents issued in a language other than English. A translation agency or university language department should issue official translations typed on official stationery and the translator must attest proficiency in the original language and indicate their translations are accurate word-for-word.

    During the application process an unofficial transcript is acceptable for review pending an Admissions decision. Official transcripts are required upon admission. Include transcripts both official and unofficial from all universities/colleges from which a degree was obtained or prerequisites were fulfilled. You can attach unofficial transcripts as .pdf or .jpg files in the Educational History section of the application form. If you are in the process of completing a bachelor's degree when you apply, a transcript showing your first three years of study is acceptable.

    Transcripts are considered official if sent directly from the degree- or credit-granting institution to the SAIC Graduate Admissions Office. Hard copy transcripts are considered official if the documents remain in the registrar's original signed and sealed envelopes. Official transcripts can be sent both in digital and hard-copy format. Digital transcripts can be sent from the degree- or credit-granting institution to gradmiss@saic.edu. Hard copy transcripts can be mailed to:

    SAIC Graduate Admissions
    36 S. Wabash Ave., Suite 1201
    Chicago, IL 60603

    Students admitted to a graduate program who have not received a high school diploma, GED or equivalent are not eligible for federal Title IV financial aid funds. 

  • Write a 500- to 700- word statement of purpose describing the history of your interests and experiences in design, your personal and professional motivation and goals, and your reasons for pursuing graduate study in design at SAIC.

    Save your statement of purpose as a PDF and upload it as an attachment. You will upload your statement of purpose in your application portal.

  • Two letters of reference are required.

    You are responsible for securing letters of recommendation from persons who are qualified to write about your potential for success at SAIC. If you are currently a student or are a recent graduate, we recommend you request letters of recommendation from current or former instructors.

    Letters of recommendation should be submitted electronically via the Letters of Recommendation section in each program-specific application. In the Recommendations section click Add Recommender, where you will be asked to provide an email address and other details for each of your references. Once you click "Send To Recommender" an email will be sent from your application portal to your references, with instructions on how to submit their recommendations securely through our online portal.

    If your references are unable to provide an online recommendation please contact the Graduate Admissions office at gradmiss@saic.edu.

  • A résumé is required for all graduate programs. Upload your résumé in the Résumé or Curriculum Vitae (CV) section of your application form.

  • Your portfolio should include a minimum of five different projects documented in up to 20 images, or up to 10 minutes of time-based work, or a combination of the two in which one image is equivalent to approximately 30 seconds of time-based work.

    Applicants are required to submit an E-Portfolio. Once you pay the application fee, submit the application form, and the waiting period has passed, your application portal will direct you to create a SlideRoom portfolio for any program you selected in the application form that requires a portfolio of visual or multimedia work.

    IMPORTANT: you will be prompted to create a SlideRoom profile and must use the same name, email, and other credentials EXACTLY as they appear in your application form. 

    Submission Specifications:

    • Images: .jpg, .gif, .pdf (up to 5 MB each)
    • Videos: .flv, .wv, .mov (up to 60 MB each)
    • Audio: .mp3 (up to 10 MB each)
    • Text documents: MUST be in .pdf format (up to 10 MB each)

  • TOEFL IBT minimum 100 (for tests completed before January 21, 2026)
    TOEFL IBT minimum 5 (for tests completed after January 21, 2026)

    IELTS: 7 

    DUOLINGO: 120

    International applicants are required to submit evidence of English language proficiency. You are waived from this requirement if you meet any of the following conditions:

    • Your native language is English
    • You have an undergraduate degree conferred by a U.S. accredited university
    • You have an undergraduate degree conferred by a university whose primary language of instruction is English

    If you do not meet one of these conditions, you must submit official English language proficiency test scores. You are strongly encouraged to schedule a language proficiency test appointment as early as possible in order to receive official test scores prior to the application deadline.

    SAIC accepts official scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), and Duolingo. The TOEFL Institution Code for SAIC is 1713. Please upload an unofficial copy of your test score results to the International Requirements section of the application form.

  • The department conducts interviews by invitation only. Applicants who pass the preliminary review will be invited to schedule an interview in mid-February. Notification will be sent by late January. For students at a distance or unable to travel, interviews may be conducted remotely.

Upcoming Admissions Events

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Oct15

Grad Programs On-Campus Weekend: October 15-17

Join Graduate Admissions on campus for a variety of opportunities to learn about our graduate degrees.

Thursday, October 15 - Saturday, October 17 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. CDT at On Campus

Take the Next Step

Visit the graduate admissions website or contact the graduate admissions office at 312.629.6100, 800.232.7242 or gradmiss@saic.edu.

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Master of Design in Designed Objects Program Brochure

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