Design Studies focuses on research and knowledge of the design process, decision-making, and the cultural and behavioral context of these activities.

As designed products become more pervasive in our society, it is imperative that we consider the ways in which the design and formal properties of our buildings and urban spaces shape experience, use patterns, and cultural expression. The intent of these areas of study is the development of theories and tools to assist designers, planners and decision-makers in creating more exciting, effective and responsive places. New kinds of knowledge representations, particularly information models, are often vital to this research. Students take advantage of a rich array of University resources as they interconnect one or more of the following areas.

Design Process + Design Cognition

Design process becomes subject matter in itself when it transcends the particulars of any one professional domain. What is the nature of multidisciplinary creative design that has led many fields to value this approach to problem solving? While encompassing processes of problem solving, representation, mental imaging and other cognitive engagement, it is also often an activity of interdisciplinary collaboration, coordination, and negotiation. Studies of design process and design cognition are often interdisciplinary in nature, drawing upon fields such as organizational dynamics, cognitive science, psychology, engineering, and economics.

Urban Design + Building Form

Studies of urban design and building form address the multiple links between spatial structure, use patterns, social and cultural meaning. Studies in this area develop models and morphologies of use, based on tools ranging from Graphic Information Systems to Space Syntax. Representing and modeling the spatial dimensions of behavior and use patterns become aspects of the formal description of built as well as virtual environments. This work may be closely linked with cultural and behavioral studies, the College's Master of Urban Design and Master of Urban and Regional Planning, and with the fields of public policy and information science.

Cultural + Behavioral Studies

This area encompasses studies of how people, organizations, and communities engage, interpret, and are influenced by the built environment. An understanding of these issues is central to the advancement of both architectural practice and architectural theory, as well as to the formulation of public policy. Within this specialization, the following thematic emphases are well supported by Doctoral Program and College faculty: Neighborhood and Community Design, Museum Design, Meaning of Place, the experience of Home and Housing Design, Quality of Life and Workplace Design.

In addition, this emphasis area is supported by the extensive range of interdisciplinary resources of the university as a whole, including: Organizational Studies, Public Policy, Public Health, the Institute for Social Research, Social Work, Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology, various international studies centers, and a host of other departments and professional schools/colleges within the university.

Design Computing

Ever since its pioneering research in the 1960's, the College has pursued leadership in computer-aided design. As the emphasis has shifted from tool-building to media integration in this rapidly changing area, new work has emerged in simulations, digital fabrications, product modeling databases, collaborative systems, and physical interfaces. The programming culture benefits from links not only to computer science but also to organizational studies, complex systems, interface design, scientific visualization, and embedded-microchip art as well.