What is design? How is it a deeply human endeavor? How can we design better products, services, and experiences in our communities? If you’re interested in helping create a more equitable and accessible world, this Center for Computational Thinking module on Open Design is for you.
In this introductory module to Open Design, you’ll learn how you can center equity in your design processes. You’ll learn how the iterative four mindsets of Open Design — understand, create, evaluate, and share — will guide you to meaningfully impact your community. The principles at the heart of Open Design — active inclusivity, transparency, and collaboration — are applicable to work in all fields, providing you with a reflective framework as you make important decisions. This module provides the background on Open Design and its relationship to similar methodologies. After completing this introductory module, you should have the knowledge necessary to explain Open Design to others — and continue your Open Design journey with other learning opportunities.
AL
I liked the course as the majority of materials was readings, instead of video lectures.
Showing: 5 of 5
The Open Design course was a truly eye-opening experience that shifted the way I think about design and collaboration. What I found most valuable was how the course emphasized principles over tools. Instead of focusing only on methods, it highlighted the deeper values of active inclusivity, collaboration, and transparency, showing how design can be a driver of equity and social change. The examples, like the CSbyUs project, made the concepts tangible and showed how communities can shape solutions that directly impact them. I also appreciated the structure of the course around the four mindsets: Understand, Create, Evaluate, and Share. Moving through these iteratively helped me realize that design is not a linear process but a cycle that can (and should) revisit earlier stages to improve the outcome. The mix of videos, readings, and reflection prompts encouraged me to think critically, not just about design projects, but also about the ethical and social implications of the choices designers make. Overall, this course was not only educational but inspiring, and it gave me practical tools as well as a more inclusive perspective on design.
It's a nice introductory course and its a very useful to have. In my opinion it's great to know open design so you could apply it to research or even other design fields. It talks about equity and collaboration a lot.
Very easy to understand :)
I liked the course as the majority of materials was readings, instead of video lectures.
useful