[YDA 1- 2019] San Francisco — Week 1 — Intro to Design
On Saturday, Inneract Project kicked off its 2019 Youth Design Academy 1 (YDA 1) at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. Inneract Project is a nonprofit dedicated to creating pathways to design careers for youth of color.
The morning began with an energizing game of “Everyone’s Biggest Fan” (a multi-round tournament of rock, paper, scissors), prior to the introductions of the teaching staff:
- Isabel Bagsik (Teacher), a designer at “Communication Arts” magazine.
- Chris Elawa (Teacher), a product designer at Facebook.
- Chris Gallello (Teaching Assistant), a growth product manager at Strava.
- Mischelle Mulia (TA), a product designer at Clever.
- Toni Coleman (TA), a communication designer at Facebook.
- Robby Nepomuceno (TA), a recruiting manager at Facebook.
The San Francisco YDA 1 will also be supported by Inneract Project staff members Roslyn Coutinho and Gina Pospelova.
After introductions, Isabel and Chris introduced the field of design by sharing a video and a definition by San Francisco-based designer Mike Monteiro:
“Design is the intentional solution to a problem with a set of constraints.”
The two of them then discussed the differences between design and art, contrasting their respective intentions and messages.
Over the next several weeks, YDA 1 will dive into four key areas of design: communication, digital, spatial, and physical.
- Communication design involves effective communication concepts, primarily in print and electronic media. (i.e. posters, typography)
- Digital design is any design created with, absorbed, or engaged through a digital interface, such as a screen, computer, or appliance.
- Spatial design includes and blends disciplines such as architecture, landscape architecture, landscape design, interior design, service design, and public art.
- Physical (or industrial) design involves the design of products, focusing on the appearance, functionality, value, and experience of a product.
These four areas also intersect, creating overlapping design disciplines that will be discussed in the coming weeks, such as brand and marketing, environment, urban, and fashion design.
The morning culminated with a hands-on design activity indicative of the seminar activities that the students will be working on in future classes. Students and parents were tasked with constructing the tallest tower possible capable of supporting a marshmallow using only uncooked spaghetti sticks, tape, and string.
Following nine high-energy minutes, students were immersed into design practices by debriefing successes and challenges faced in the areas of constraints, testing, and collaboration. Conversations centered around the want for additional materials, the need for quick pivoting, and the challenge in merging different viewpoints.
One of the hallmarks of the YDA 1 program is working on a community challenge — a real world problem that will be solved by students throughout the course applying what is learned in each different area of design. In previous iterations of the course, problems solved were youth fiscal responsibility and bettering the conditions of San Francisco homeless people. The community challenge will be voted upon next session, but ideas shared by students included improving students’ commute to school and increasing diversity in STEM areas.
For the next four weeks, students will learn about communication, digital, and spatial design. Subsets of these areas that will be explored further include graphic, user experience, user interface, architecture, urban, and fashion design. Each class, students will apply what they have learned to a seminar challenge that tests their knowledge, as well as a community challenge that applies these learnings to a real-world problem.
YDA 1 will culminate with a final exhibition on May 11 that brings together the San Francisco, South San Francisco, and Oakland cohorts.
