8 Track Design Series will allow students to explore “What is design?” in their first year through a series of workshops. Students will build their design literacy, develop practical skills, and learn to cultivate mindsets essential for learning at UTokyo Design. Some aspects that students can expect to take forward from this course into their design project courses from the second year onwards include critical and strategic thinking, facilitation and teamwork, and ethics and inclusivity.
This is the introduction course to the 8 Track Design Series. The students will explore social issues from a wide range of perspectives and discover the role of design in society. Students can expect to go on a journey of self-discovery and learn to reflect and document their process along the way. Through experiencing diverse design approaches in this course, students can expect to further develop their skills in subsequent courses in the series.
In this course, students will learn to critically examine society and systems to form new perspectives. They will be encouraged to engage in diverse viewpoints and will be challenged to rethink underlying assumptions to stretch the potential of design. The students will learn to construct critical questions and articulate thought-provoking prompts, foundational for responsible research and decision-making.
This course helps students understand and respect the ethical responsibilities inherent in design practice. By analyzing dilemmas arising from conflicting positions, students can learn about facilitation and inclusivity and how to take social, cultural, and environmental impacts into consideration. Students will gain awareness of the values that matter to them and learn to commit to their own ethical stance.
In this course, students can experience thinking through making. Students will learn both analog and digital prototyping techniques essential to translate ideas into tangible forms. The hands-on practice will nurture their creativity, experimentation and confidence in making.
This course enables students to understand the connections between social, cultural, economic, and natural systems. Students will learn to make sense of complex structures, relationships, and patterns through mapping and conceptualizing as a team. Together, with a shared understanding, students can address current issues and identify early opportunities for change for future challenges.
This course focuses on the use of data and artificial intelligence (AI) to support collaborative decision-making and shape design strategy. Students will first learn how to collect and analyze data, and then practice how to extract insights, visualize, and share them.
This course helps students practice user research methods. Through observing and listening, students learn to develop their empathy for users. Students also learn to extract insights from their research to transform it into ideas that they can continue to test and iterate for better outcomes.
This course prepares the students to communicate their learnings and design outcomes at the end of their first year through methods of storytelling and exhibiting. Students will be expected to reflect on their journey and articulate what they stand for to audiences as they present their intent for the change that they want to make in society.
*Information regarding faculty members in charge of each class will be posted as soon as it is confirmed.
The curriculum will consist of a different mix of classes to help students to build broad interdisciplinary knowledge and extend the creative power of design. Key elements of the program are Interdisciplinary Foundations (IF), Interdisciplinary Perspectives (IP), 8 Track Design Series, Change Maker Design Projects, Off-campus experiences (internships), Viewpoint Series, Capstone Projects (Group/Solo), and more.
For an overview of the curriculum and a list of courses, refer to the Program section.