Designing a Design Program
Designing a Design Program
RED Academy
What would you do if you had the chance to go back in time and alter your journey in design school?
I had the rare and great privilege of coming face to face with this question when I came on board at
RED Academy to co-create the User Interface and Communication Ideation Program as an instructor, and develop it further on as its Program Lead and campus Academic Deputy Director.
It was an amazing undertaking to be able to come in and use both my experience as a design student along with my years of practice as a designer in creating a design program from the ground up.
At the same time, it was such a creative journey of being able to apply familiar models like design thinking and UX along with frameworks in curriculum design and learning development in the education domain and carrying along with it, the immense responsibility of impacting future students and designers that will enter into and hopefully succeed the industry.
The School
RED Academy is a technology and design school whose mission is to empower people in creating the future they desire. The school came out of a need in bridging the gap between the demands of the tech industry with the skills from new graduates.
Its focus is on equipping students with radically relevant skills, tools and competencies that the industry practices and requires, and transfer it in a way that is immersive and experiential in order for students to best absorb and apply what they learn in a practical manner. This mindset and approach to learning was something that resonated so much with me in both my experience in learning design and having practiced and witnessed it transform over the years, as design is more about the craft, process and mindset than it is over how you normally would absorb any other subject matter.
The Challenge
The creation of the program came out of the industry opportunity to further expand its course offering to cater to this area and aspect of the industry as well as the academic and learning opportunity to create a more immersive visual design program that will branch off from the UX Program which at that time,
was then the only design program that existed in the school.
The challenge that laid ahead of us was to create an intensive, 480-hour program (broken down into five-full days a week for 12 weeks; the program structure RED had at that time for all its courses) that will give a student the best shot at pursuing and succeeding a career in designing for digital media and user interfaces by giving them the skills, tools, knowledge and well-rounded understanding of this field.
Affinity Diagram sorting out the different areas of building and running a program.
Seek First
The first course of action was to diverge and put down every question, query and concern that we would have in building a program. As with ideating in a design project, this process allowed us to go off and explore how far we can go with what the program would be and would entail before scoping and filtering it down and giving ourselves a roadmap and structure of what we needed to build. This gave us the opportunity to look at what we needed to research, explore and ask ourselves before answering anything.
Our research and exploration in filling these aspects of the program consisted of:
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Interviews, contextual inquires and focused groups with
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current and former students
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industry colleagues involved in different aspects of design
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Competitive analysis and domain research by looking at different design schools that were both similar and different to our program structure.
We knew that creating and running a program entails considering so much more than knowing what to teach. It was crucial for us to also connect with every touch point of the program such as admissions, marketing, as well as collaborating with the program leads of other courses and taking cue from their blueprint in order for us to establish a well unified ecosystem and a better hold of what our next steps would be.
User Persona, Use Case and Scenarios.
Eyes on the Prize
Course pillars & program structure.
Rhythm & Flow of Lessons
Having an immersive, collaborative, experiential approach to learning was at the heart of RED and the program we wanted to create. We didn’t only want students to learn about design but apply and experience in a very intentional and progressive way that would really benefit them once they go out in the real world. We wanted to bring the real world in the classroom.
We wanted every topic, every day, every week of the program to tell a story about how design moves and grows and how someone learning it can transform and evolve as they absorb and practice it. We took insights from previous and current student's journey at RED along with what we have established and our knowledge of design in creating guidelines and rules for ourselves in arranging lessons so that it can be paced and absorbed the most effective way as possible. Below is an example of a student journey along with the learnings and guidelines we set.
Journey map of UX student.
Wholistic Approach
Building solid design foundations with the students early on before focusing too much on one subject matter. Mixing different aspects of design and having a well rounded understanding and base before we dive in to the micro.
Themes & Skills Focus
Once certain foundations have been laid, we could then move forward into more focused topics and lessons with students. This aligned with the projects they had and what skills and knowledge they needed to attain in order to complete them.
70 - 30 Rule
Giving space and time for students to absorb, reflect and practice the subject matter before moving forward. We came up with a 70-30 rule of 30% of sessions are new aspects and topics while the 70% are meant for exercises, reviews and unifying it with previous topics.
Cross Program Collab
Aligning it with other programs course content and what skills they collectively need to have for certain projects allowed us to work back in sequencing lessons. This made for more collaboration both in working and learning together.
Lesson sequence guidelines.
Initial version of 12-week course outline.
Design Inception
Design Inception framework from the Golden Circle.
One very particular aspect of the program was creating a framework we can give students in creating and establishing their design direction.
In separating ourselves from a graphic design program, which could otherwise design from the mindset, focus and starting point such as the designer's
style, popular trends, business objectives, etc., we wanted our course to focus on designing for users from the inside out; in an emotional and purposeful level that would then translate visually. With this in mind, we looked into different domains and exercises that we could take cue from that puts the user at the centre, and try to transfer it through the lens of visual language and emotional design.
What we were able to create was a process that references and takes inspiration from the UX research exercise of the Five Whys combined with Simon Sinek’s organizational and brand building framework of mapping out the Golden Circle. We then distilled the elements of design foundations and emotional design into the same framework which resonated and aligned quite perfectly into what we called the design inception.
Why: The core purpose of why something exists. Similar to design, it is the core reason and purpose a user, product or service exists and is designed for.
Mood (How): The process of which the Why is reached that is unique to its own. From a design standpoint, these are the specific emotional reactions and moods a designer creates in achieving the core purpose. It is the setting the designer needs to establish that aligns with the purpose, the emotional design component that entails in creating an art direction. Design without emotion is empty and just pretty, and we wanted our students to pursue design that is relational, experiential and purposeful.
Visual Language (What): This is the product, the service and the goods, which closely parallels to the external, visual aspect of design; the elements of visual language that designers use as their tools. We broke up to its different aspects: space, colour, movement and shape.
We then tested this framework and process further in order for us to verify if it would also make sense with others and if it would be something they would use.
We did so in many ways such as; dissecting and retroactively rebuilding brands and campaigns ourselves with the framework to see if it resonated, giving the tool to other students and designers to see if they not only worked, but if it was something both an experienced designer and a junior could find sense, guidance and confidence in using and applying.
The results were nothing short of phenomenal, and it was an amazing experience to both witness and nurture students in the process and see their creativity grow.
Testing, Iterations & Evolution
As designers, we had the same mindset and approach in the program we built in that it will always continue to evolve and improve.
We made sure to create specific touch points and rhythms in the program (and as a school) in order for us to get different types of feedback in order for us to examine, assess and improve as we move forward. The curriculum's foundation and overall structure was in place, but similar to design, we needed to create feedback loops and checkpoints in order for it, as well as ourselves as designers and instructors, to continue to adapt, evolve and remain radically relevant with the industry.
Journaling: We had rolling journal for each lesson, making updates and notes of what worked, didn’t work and what could be improved and reviewed these in creating updates for the next cohort as well as adjusting the lessons that followed.
Agile in Education: We conducted regular scrums within the design team as well as weekly meetings to checkin on everything from project updates, student and instructor support and looking at the lessons and weeks ahead in order for us to be aware of the different aspects involved in the program.
Student Involvement: We created a Student Experience Survey to inquire about students with regards to their own learning and sat down with them to discuss the results. We have come to see the program as a collaborative effort rather than it being a transactional or a one-sided dynamic. We have come to learn from them as much as they did from us and it is the sharing of feedback, knowledge and talent that has allowed this program to grow and also become a very enjoyable and fulfilling experience for everyone.
Industry Collaboration and Participation: Similar to how we built the program, we wanted the continued participation and collaboration with our industry colleagues in strengthening and transforming what we impart to students. We conducted bi-annual Jedi Council meetings where we conducted exercises and conversations in gaining insights and inquiry into both the curriculum and the industry to make sure they remained aligned and in sync. We not only used these insights in updating and improving the program but also shared it with students in informing them of what the industry needed from its designers from everything such as their skills, portfolios and knowledge but also their attitude, character and mindset.
Outcomes & Learnings
Seeing the program evolve and transform over the years has been such an amazing experience, and it was a thrill to be part of it all.
From its initial creation, the program has grown in so many ways with the addition of:
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a 10-week Part Time Program
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a 26-week Work Study Program that includes international students
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the program being run in schools and campuses in Toronto, London and the University of Alberta.
As much as the program and its lessons has changed and shifted along with the demands and needs of the industry, the fundamental aspects and essence we put in place remain.
Throughout its course, the program has had over 50 designers (and counting) from different domains and expertise share their knowledge, insights and stories in collaborating with its evolution. Each and everyone of them played an immense role in taking part in guiding students as mentors and instructors through their journey.
In this whole experience, nothing could be more rewarding than seeing and experiencing the growth and development of students who have gone to have successful careers and become better designers, professionals, collaborators and people throughout the process.
Here are some examples of the many projects that came out of the program that I have mentored and overseen with the students:
