Center for Integrated Design Courses

Courses at The Center

At the Center for Integrated Design, we're focused on teaching universal human-centered design methodologies, also known as Design Thinking. This coursework does not focus on the technical design skills that you would learn if pursuing a degree through the Department of Design. We focus on the mindsets, attitudes, and foundational design skills that teach you how to be creative in your approach to solving problems and generating ideas for current studies and future work. You will learn how to integrate design into anything you’re doing, whether studying theater or physics, engineering, business or Japanese.

Guided by expert design faculty and professional working designers, our courses will help you develop both the creative and critical thinking skills essential to imagine new futures for your chosen career path and in your own life. We offer experimental and adaptable courses that change each semester to meet the emerging demands of the world around us.

Fall 2023 Undergraduate Courses

The courses listed are open to students of any major but are for undergraduates only. Email cid@austin.utexas.edu for more information about courses from the Center for Integrated Design.

Courses at a Glance

5-Week Courses

  • New! ITD 130T Retro Futures, unique: 22201
  • New! ITD 150 Prototyping Products, unique: 22202
  • ITD 101 Intro to Integrated Design, unique: 22169
  • ITD 104 Design in Business, unique: 22199
  • ITD 106 Improv Skills in Design, unique: 22200
  • ITD 111 Intro to Design for AI, unique: 22204
  • ITD 150 Digital Prototyping-wb, unique: 22207
  • ITD 150 Storytelling in Design, unique: 22206

10-Week Courses

  • ITD 150 Intro to Technology Product Development, unique: 22198

Full Semester Courses

  • ITD 301D Intro to Design Thinking, unique: 22170, 22175, 22180, 22185
  • ITD 102 Sketching for Thinking & Communication-wb, uniques: 22190, 22195
  • ITD 310 Integrated Design, unique: 22203
  • ITD 350 How to See Like a Designer, unique: 22210
  • ITD 350 Idea to Product, unique: 22215

Application Courses

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  • New! ITD 350 Fidelity Studio Partnership, unique: 22225
  • ITD 170 argodesign Studio (off campus), unique: 22229
  • ITD 270 Netflix Studio, unique: 22227
  • ITD 370 IBM Studio, unique: 22230

Full Course List

New! ITD 130T Retro Futures

Unique: 22201

Faculty: Monica Penick

Explore how designers from the past imagined living in the future.

New! ITD 150 Prototyping Products

Unique: 22202

Faculty: Mariel Lanas

Learn how to approach physical prototyping to spark discussion and advance ideas. Class meets October 2-30.

New! ITD 150 Intro to Technology Product Development

Unique: 22198

Faculty: Mark McDermott, Scott Evans

Intro to Technology Product Development is a one-credit course focused on engaging first- and second-year students in designing, prototyping and evaluating original or improved technology products; students will do design work to learn design. We will meet for 90-minutes each week for the first ten weeks of the semester.

The class will include an overview of product design methods used to facilitate physical product development (which may also include software), an introduction to computer-aided design tools, training in the use of 3D printing and electronics tools in the Texas Inventionworks facilities, and building and testing a series of prototypes. Teams will also perform market research and present their work to students in the class and to guest mentors.

The purpose of the class is to provide an early design experience for students, which will hopefully lead to additional design/invention activities in other classes, competitions or initiated by the students themselves. The class is being jointly taught by Dr. Scott Evans, director of Texas Inventionworks, and Dr. Mark McDermott, serial semiconductor entrepreneur, executive-in-residence and electrical engineering professor.

ITD 101 Intro to Integrated Design

Unique: 22169

Faculty: Gray Garmon

Introduction to the concept of design thinking as a core fundamental in education and industry across all disciplines and channels. Guest speakers may facilitate discussion of various innovation issues facing businesses today. Class meets August 22-September 19.

ITD 104 Design in Business

Unique: 22199

Faculty: David Richard

Introduction to the role that business plays in the design industry. Designed to help students learn business principles to enhance problem solving skills. Class meets September 27-October 25.

ITD 106 Improv Skills in Design          

Unique: 22200

Faculty: Shannon Stott

In this course we explore and experience effective and ineffective methods of communicating without language. Expect to use and practice space, gesture, backchanneling and other non-verbal human interactions to gain a fuller understanding of the messages you are sending and receiving as you and others move through the world. Begin the journey of becoming more connected to the many facets of you and others in order to deepen and stabilize your personal and professional relationships. Class meets August 21-September 25.

ITD 111 Intro to Design for AI

Unique: 22204

Faculty: Abhay Agarwal

Introduction to exploring design as a problem-solving tool for real-world scenarios posed from artificial intelligence and robotics. Class meets September 27-October 25.

ITD 150 Digital Prototyping-wb

Unique: 22207

Faculty: Joe Meersman

Explore the different ways to create digital prototypes and discover the various tools available to make and share a digital prototype. Class meets August 22-September 19. Taught as a Web-based course.

ITD 150 Storytelling in Design

Unique: 22206

Faculty: Kathryn Marinaro + Michelle Whitman

Taught off-campus at ARGO DESIGN in Austin, Texas. Transportation provided. Learn about effective storytelling techniques to help connect with the audience. Through interactive class sessions, work with design professionals from argodesign and see how they incorporate stories into their everyday work, while applying the concepts and techniques behind building and delivering stories. Transportation provided. Class meets August 22-September 19

ITD 301D Intro to Design Thinking

Uniques: 22170, 22175, 22180, 22185

Faculty: various

What is design thinking? In this course, students learn the principles of design thinking and apply them to real-world problems while working in interdisciplinary teams. Students learn how to frame problems, learn about people and their behaviors, then apply those insights to improve products and services through rapid prototyping and iteration.

ITD 102 Sketching for Thinking & Communication-wb

Unique: 22190, 22195

Faculty: Joe Meersman

Sketching is the fastest way to convey ideas, whether in an ideation session or just taking notes in a meeting. Designed to help students learn the basic elements of sketching to visualize concepts and quickly bring alignment to any team. Full Semester.

ITD 310 Integrated Design

Unique: 22203

Faculty: DiMitri Higginbotham

In this new class, students will focus on integrating design into your own fields of study and interest. The basis of the class will be student-driven projects that pick your own topic and use design methods and mindsets.

ITD 350 How to See Like a Designer

Unique: 22210

Faculty: Jon Freach

Analyze photography and infers meaning from it. Combines interviews with photography to generate data for storytelling purposes.

ITD 350 Idea to Product

Unique: 22215

Faculty: Scott Evans

Students in this class will work in multi-disciplinary teams to develop new products during the semester following processes and activities aligned with practicing product development firms. Products are typically aimed at our campus community but can address other markets. Teams will be prepared for and have the option to compete in the Idea to Product competition.

Application Courses

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ITD 350 Fidelity Studio Partnership

Unique: 22225

Faculty: Gray Garmon

This is a small (only 6-8 students), full-semester Studio Partnership with Fidelity Investments taught on-campus. Fidelity will be a project partner working with students on project.

ITD 170 argodesign Studio (Off-Campus)

Unique: 22229

Faculty: Amanda Alcantara + Sara Wingfield

Taught off-campus at ARGO DESIGN in Austin, Texas. Transportation provided. During this course, the argodesign team will share mechanisms and strategies for creating successful applications, products, and experiences. Students will then use these skills and tactics to complete a design project from start-to-finish. At the conclusion of the course, you will not only have gained expertise in a current topic that designers are grappling with, you will have a set of tools that will help you hit the ground running when you start your work in industry.

ITD 270 Netflix Studio

Unique: 22227

Faculty: Jared Culp + Constantine Konstantakis

Combining real-world Netflix topics with field research, the course aims at discovering key features and experiences for users before, during, and after the discovery of their next binge-worthy favorite piece of content. During the course, students will study viewing habits, choice, and how we can increase delight for viewers. This 10-week class meets August 23-October 25.

ITD 370 IBM Studio

unique: 22230

Solve real-world design problems in an industry setting, working in multidisciplinary teams.

Fall 2023 Graduate Courses

The courses listed are open to students from any college but are for graduate students only.

ITD 380 Design Thinking

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Faculty: TBA

Unique: 22240

Explores the concepts of design thinking and human-centered design methods, with a focus on design process and problem solving. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

Bridging Disciplines Program

We also partner with the Bridging Disciplines Program in the School of Undergraduate Studies to offer a BDP Certificate in Design Strategies. The curriculum to attain the certificate engages students in a design process that includes research and insights; creative problem solving; prototyping and testing; and implementation and presentation — all while learning to apply a critical lens to the social context within which design takes place.

Learn about the Design Strategies BDP