Courses
Learn and practice design thinking and human-centered design with our "DTX" courses
SCD uses our research to develop content for our courses, and creates unique offerings in partnership with instructors and colleges. Our own "DTX" course code stands for "Design Thinking & X", meaning any discipline could combine with human-centered design.
Our DTX courses range from an introduction to Design Thinking to specialty capstones. These courses allow students to take a deeper dive into the key principles and mindsets of Design Thinking and learn how they can apply this to their specific fields. To enhance the connection to real-world situations, many of our adjunct instructors are primarily brought in from industry.
Fall 2024 Courses
DTX 180 | Exercising Empathy
Empathy can play a role in everything we do. Understanding empathy enables us to live full and intentional lives. How do we become compassionate people? When we approach and address problems in our world, how do we ensure we consider others, their perspectives, and their needs? This course introduces six core values and provides students with a foundational understanding of empathy.
DTX 451 | Introduction to Design Thinking
Provides a hands-on introduction to the fundamentals of Design Thinking and Human-Centered Design. Students will analyze and reflect on design challenges as well as participate in human-centered design while working collaboratively on group projects. Through project work, students will learn methods to perform initial research and project scoping, conduct interviews, create journey maps and wireframes, brainstorm and propose ideas, plan and develop prototypes to communicate and test ideas.
DTX 495 | Special Topics in Design Thinking
Perception and cognition play a central role in design, impacting not only the user’s experience of a design, but also the human-centered design process itself. During this 8 week course, students will be introduced to scientific findings from cognitive psychology experiments that are relevant to both user experience and the human-centered design process. Topics will include perception, attention, working memory, long-term memory, concepts and categories, and cognitive biases. Students will apply experimental findings to design projects and will then collaboratively evaluate the successes and failures of the application of laboratory-based findings to real-world design. This is a 16-week course.
Student-Centered App Design is an 8-week, project-based course that focuses on using Human-Centered Design (HCD) principles to examine the needs of students at the University of Illinois and reimagine a student-centered app experience. During this course, you will work in teams to identify opportunities, brainstorm ideas, create wireframes, test prototypes, and refine your app concepts. By the end of the course, you will develop a more thorough understanding of HCD methodologies and gain iterative experience in app design, preparing you for future projects in the field. Students from all academic backgrounds are encouraged to enroll, as no prior programming or design experience is required, but DTX495: Introduction to UX Theory and Tools is recommended as a precursor for students interested in more practical hands-on training with popular UX design tools like Figma. This course is conducted during the second 8 weeks of classes.
Designer’s Guide to Oppression and Resistance
This course examines the distinctions between historical patterns of enslavement and the types of abuses that are currently defined as modern-day slavery. Most importantly, this course equips students with tools to develop solutions to address these problems. Human-centered design is a research methodology that leverages human experiences, behaviors, and social contexts to create practical solutions for global challenges. This course combines the study of history with human-centered design to come up with solutions to the issues of modern slavery.
This course is a collaboration between UIUC and the University of Johannesburg. Students will be working with students in Johannesburg to develop innovative solutions to issues around oppression.
This course is conducted during the first 8 weeks of classes.
Introduction to UX Theory and Tools is a foundational course aimed at providing students with an initial grasp of the theoretical principles fundamental to User Experience (UX) Design, along with practical hands-on training in essential UX tools. The curriculum delves into key concepts of UX, encompassing user psychology, interaction design, information architecture, and usability principles. Moreover, the course offers interactive sessions to familiarize students with popular UX design tools like Figma, with a focus on wireframing, prototyping, and collaboration functionalities. Through a blend of lectures, workshops, and project-based tasks, students will develop beginner-level proficiency in utilizing these tools to create and assess effective user interfaces. Upon completion, students will have acquired introductory knowledge and skills necessary to evaluate the usability of digital products and create functional prototypes. Students from all academic backgrounds are encouraged to enroll in this hands-on course, as no prior programming or design experience is required. This course is recommended as a precursor for DTX 495: Student-Centered App Design, and other similar courses on campus. This course is conducted during the first 8 weeks of classes.
DTX 499 | Multidisciplinary Innovation Studio
Design thinking requires design practice, especially on real-world challenges that truly need cross-disciplinary creative and critical thinking. This course brings together multidisciplinary student teams who will use the human-centered design approach to complete authentic projects. Thematic sections will require the teams to implement design thinking methodologies to conduct research, propose and prototype designs, and plan for the implementation and launch of final designs. Teams will be matched with appropriate advisors for guidance and inspiration.
Suggest a Course
Interested in proposing a course to be run as a topic under DTX 495? Share your idea with SCD and we will be in touch to discuss your proposal! Get started by submitting the form linked below by March 1 for a course the following Fall semester or October 1 for a course the following Spring semester.
Interdisciplinary Certificates
Interdisciplinary Certificate in Social Design
For students interested in combining human-centeredness with social impact design
Interdisciplinary Certificate in Health Innovation
For students interested in the concepts, mindsets, and processes they need to innovate sustainable and human-centered solutions to complex problems within the health industry.
Interdisciplinary Certificate in Immersive Experience Design
For students interested in using Human-Centered Design to connect deeply with audiences when designing everything from augmented and mixed reality to real environments.