FZD Term 1 - Understanding The World

I get a lot of PMs asking various questions relating to studying concept design. Since I don't have too much time these days to make new Design Cinema and Pod Casts, I'll try to share some insights here. (btw, I do plan to make new episodes later this year).

I'll start by explaining the various classes we teach at FZD and why they are important. I hope you guys find this information helpful, especially those who are studying on your own. You can try to give yourself similar assignments and follow along.

First is our Term 1 Design Sketching class. The goal of this course is to teach students to observe the world around us. Part of designing something new is to understand what already exists. This class allows students to practice sketching while at the same time, learn about various subject matters. Each week the topics are changed. Homework ranges from 3-6 A3 pages per week. All images are referenced first. With 14 weeks in a term, students get a pretty wide coverage of subject matters. And with 60+ A3 pages of drawings by the end, they get a lot of mileage too.

So why not just look at pictures instead? Because by drawing something down, your brain stores the information in long term memory (I still remember some of the sketches I did back at ACCD 22 years ago!). The more you look at the real world, the more you realize how "little" you actually have to design. The real world is already cool!

For more examples, please visit FZDSCHOOL.COM