Undergraduate Overview

This course introduces students to the history, culture, and practice of architecture, interior architecture, and historic preservation through lectures, field trips, and hands-on exercises. Students learn fundamentals of spatial analysis and representation through orthographic drawing, understand the cultural context in which spatial practices operate, and explore architectural design. Class work may include field trips to historic buildings; visits to archives, exhibitions, or events; and design exercises introducing plan, section, elevation, and scale; translation between two- and three-dimensional representations of space; and architectural diagramming.

This course introduces students to the history, culture, and practice of architecture, interior architecture, and historic preservation through lectures, field trips, and hands-on exercises. Students learn fundamentals of spatial analysis and representation through orthographic drawing, understand the cultural context in which spatial practices operate, and explore architectural design. Class work may include field trips to historic buildings; visits to archives, exhibitions, or events; and design exercises introducing plan, section, elevation, and scale; translation between two- and three-dimensional representations of space; and architectural diagramming.

This 6-credit (two day) design studio teaches foundational concepts and skills of architectural design through a series of exercises culminating in a design proposal. Students practice skills of orthographic drawing and model-making in an iterative process to develop and convey ideas through the medium of architectural design. In addition to architectural design, course work includes exercises in architectural research; on-site analysis and community engagement; and precedent study; and concludes with a final presentation. At the conclusion of the semester, students participate in the Portfolio Review, a presentation and critique of student portfolios organized by faculty and students in the department's critique spaces. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the department template including Rhino and Revit.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This course introduces the foundational tools and techniques of architectural representation using software platforms such as Rhino and Revit. It is intended for students with little or no prior experience in architectural software.

Students learn the conventions of architectural drawing, including plans, sections, elevations, scale, and basic three-dimensional representation. The course emphasizes the relationship between two-dimensional drawings and three-dimensional models, and introduces digital workflows for drafting, modeling, file organization, and drawing output.

Class work includes lectures and demonstrations; readings; and iterative exercises to build understanding of concepts and skills with software. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specifications and runs the department software template including Rhino and Revit.

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.

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.

This course focuses on color and light and their influence on the human experience in the built environment. Students study color interpretation and cultural connectivity; learn rigorous representation techniques; and develop a personal design sensibility with light and color. The course emphasizes Color Theory and Light Theory and their practical applications; color, light and culture and how people experience their environment through the senses; and the design of environmental effects using color and light in tandem with material, structure and form. Course work includes case studies, precedent research, in-class assignments, readings, design critiques, and field trips.

This course takes students on a journey through the changing landscape of ceramic art, design, and production. Recent advances in rapid prototyping technologies provide designers and artists with more direct means for transforming concepts into physical form. In this course, students explore various ways to apply advanced technologies to ceramic design and production. Students will acquire basic skills in clay modeling methods, plaster mold making, slip casting, 3D Scanning, digital modeling, and digital output methods including 3D Printing and Laser Cutting. Basic knowledge for Rhino and/or other 3D modeling software is required. The technologies and methods for ceramic production have been developing over the course of thousands of years, often linked to specific material/cultural histories. Digital tools afford makers the ability to create, manipulate, distort, and ideate without the constraints of the ceramic process. Through slide lecture, readings, group discussions, demonstrations, and self directed projects, we will consider ceramic production methods of the past and how they influence contemporary art and design practices. In this course we will ask the questions: What are the benefits and the challenges of using ceramic materials? How can we use digital tools to assist in the ideation, prototyping, and the production of ceramic objects? How can we use ceramic materials to assist in the ideation, prototyping, and production of digital objects? What is the interplay between the digital object and the ceramic object?

Core Studio 3 introduces students to designing objects and systems that behave¿objects that sense, respond, and interact over time. The studio marks a transition from designing isolated artifacts to designing systems whose form, logic, and interaction are inseparable.

Students are introduced to fundamental concepts of interaction and systems thinking, including inputs and outputs, states, timing, feedback, and legibility. Using simple electronics, sensors, and actuators, students prototype behaviors and explore how objects communicate what they do through form, response, and feedback. Coding is approached conceptually and pragmatically, with emphasis on understanding and shaping behavior rather than technical mastery. AI and traditional coding tools are used to support iteration, translation, and debugging while students retain authorship over design intent.
3D modeling is used to design structures, enclosures, and assemblies that integrate physical form with electronic components. Prototyping combines rough physical builds with basic interaction logic to test usability and clarity. Visualization tools are introduced to diagram systems, map interactions, and make invisible processes understandable.
By the end of the studio, students understand building as an integrative practice¿one that brings together materials, structure, and behavior to create coherent interactive objects.

Who this course is for
This studio is for students who are comfortable designing physical objects and are ready to explore how objects can act, respond, and interact. It is intended for students interested in interactive products, responsive environments, and hybrid physical¿digital systems, regardless of prior coding experience.

When to take it
Core Studio 3 is typically taken after completing Core Studios 1 and 2, once students have foundational experience with materials, prototyping, and digital workflows. 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. It is intended to be taken after or alongside the Designing Interaction core skills course. The studio also pairs well with technical or future-focused electives.

Recent advancements in digital fabrication, crowdfunding, and direct-to-consumer sales have enabled independent designers to bring their own products to market, challenging traditional designer-manufacturer relationships. This seminar explores emerging models of small-scale production and distribution, equipping students with the knowledge and skills to develop their own independent design practices. Through case studies, guest speakers, and field trips to local factories and fabrication workshops, students will gain firsthand experience with real-world manufacturing processes. Observing material production techniques will inform design exercises, where students develop original product concepts tailored to specific fabrication methods. After each field visit, students will present their ideas through detailed hand sketches. Guest designers and trips to local studios will provide insight into working with manufacturers, navigating funding sources, and executing marketing and distribution strategies. Instruction will also cover technical drawing, specification packages, and online presence as key tools for independent production. By the end of the course, students will have a foundational understanding of how to design, manufacture, and launch their own products, positioning themselves as independent design entrepreneurs.

This course teaches advanced operations with the tools of architectural representation. Students learn parametric and generative modeling strategies, advanced Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows, and methods for moving between software platforms such as Rhino and Revit at multiple phases of a design project.

The class introduces the use of real-world site data, including location and sun settings, to support environmental analysis and design decisions. Emphasis is placed on coordinating digital models, producing drawings, renderings, and basic animations, and clearly communicating design intent and process.

Class work includes lectures, demonstrations, readings, and iterative exercises. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specifications and runs the department software template including Rhino and Revit.

This course introduces students to the concepts and skills of designing for construction of buildings and spaces, with an emphasis on the politcical economy of construction. Topics include how architects integrate knowledge and understanding of the construction process into the design process; and how architects communicate their design intentions in drawings and other documents that direct construction. Class work includes lectures; readings and discussions; and exercises to produce construction drawings and details. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specifications and runs the department software template including Rhino and Revit.

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.

This 6-credit (two day) design studio focuses on the role architecture plays in shaping public life. Students address the cultural, political, and material concerns that shape buildings through the development of a design proposal with a clear theoretical grounding and distinct topical focus. Teaching focuses on understanding architectural program and circulation; materiality and structure; and site and context. Students respond to topical briefs put forward by their teacher that incorporate knowledge from areas of architectural practice such as preservation, interior design, or urbanism; use advanced representation techniques to achieve a professional level presentation, and complete a portfolio and resume along with their design work. Class work includes architectural research; precedent study; and site analysis; all informing the completion of a design proposal with a complex program. This course requires 12 credits (two semesters) of Architecture Foundation Studio to register. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specifications and runs the department software template including Rhino and Revit.

Visionary Drawing combines research and studio practice in the exploration at drawings and images that are uniquely compelling and have the power to advance visionary proposals in the realms or art, architecture, film, and spatial invention. Examination of historic and contemporary sources will be combined with active studio practice in making drawings of visions, worlds, speculations and proposals for spaces, buildings, sculptures and future monuments.

We will study an extensive variety and number or artists and architects ranging tram Mies van der Rohe to Henry Darger, Zaha Hadid to Hieronymus Bosch, the Crystal Chain to Boullee. Walter Demarta to the Bechers to Coop Himmel B(l)au The diverse range is deliberate and intentional.

Course work will vary but will typically include readings, assignments of research, and regular Intense assignments of drawing and imaging projects.