Design Through Making

Tutors: Thomas Wagner & Alon Meron

Making is an origin; Design methodology comes from making, pedagogy comes from making.  Design through Making nurtures a hands-on approach to designing, where the making of physical objects is central to the work process, providing the students with an important playground for testing ideas they seek to investigate or question.

Making inspires a mode of work which is inquisitive, agile and adaptive; creating tangible and immediate responses to influence the further developments. Making also forces one to acknowledge that failure and success are necessary to this process. Value is placed on moving rapidly from initial idea to its physical exploration of focused studies, models and prototypes.

There is no one fixed way of doing this and students’ work can vary in scale of production and attitude to design.  Research, observations and hands-on studies create a solid base for their projects.  Students are encouraged to become independent thinkers and makers; self-motivated and ambitious, as they respond to the challenges of tomorrow , seeking opportunities for thoughtful, innovative and meaningful design.

Making is underpinned by action, and we think of “design” as a verb.  Designing is the process of doing, thinking, making, adapting, moving, changing context, and using context to make sense and value our work.