AN OPEN APPROACH FOR TEACHING INNOVATION

AN OPEN APPROACH FOR TEACHING INNOVATION

Brooks Atwood
New Jersey Institute of Technology's College of Architecture & Design

Abstract

Think Pieces will explore the relationship between BIG ideas in education and how the process of design can be taught by one single, simple, intellectual question; What Would Lady Gaga Do? (WWLGD?). This paper will show in detail how the simple concept of WWLGD implemented by a team of multi-disciplinary design students lead to the design, branding, marketing, fabrication and publication of an installation during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City ... and live to tell about it (and how you can to). Think Pieces will show how thinking BIG can both inspire and transform design education. The process of design has many faces, but when you approach a project by asking that one thought provoking question; “What Would Lady Gaga Do?” you get results that tap into your imagination, are boundary pushing, challenge existing norms and inspire unadulterated creativity with a real life direct connection to entrepreneurial business. This (liberated) freedom gives a framework to the students that allow them to think, to question and to challenge the very notion of both design and business in order to get that step ahead of their competition. Think Pieces will show how the business of business can be incorporated into both design and the design process, in an academic environment and in a way that produces real results while also teaching the basics of business as well as marketing. All of which are critical for the future success of the student, the university and the profession. Ideas can change everything. Learning, Thinking + Education = new ways to impact the business of design (i.e. the future).

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