Industrial Design Mission and Curriculum

Mission Statement

There are millions of people all over the world waiting for the enlightened and entrepreneurial participation of designers, waiting to hear the insights that come from our years of work and study—real interventions that can touch the lives of all citizens of the world via the language of design, showing what's possible in life. As such, the mission of the Industrial Design Department at Pratt is to educate students to be able take their place in the world and influence it positively, joining a group of intelligent, powerful, and insightful people who can move society in a more creative and responsible direction. We are united in the rigorous pursuit of creativity and translating ideas into form, in a studio environment that promotes individual and group learning. What distinguishes the ID program at Pratt is the adroit, artful thinking of students encouraged in studio classes; the special aesthetic sensibility in form-making that is key in the curriculum; a degree of technical rigor; and creativity “in context,” with regard to history, teamwork, user experience, and conceptual thinking about social and environmental issues so that graduates of the program can take on the diversity of the design profession and contribute innovative results.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon graduation, students will be able to demonstrate a high level of competence in translating ideas into 2- and 3-D form, implementing their aesthetic sensibility, critical thinking, and use of digital/analog tools.
• Students will have in-depth knowledge of the design process according to current professional practice, including research, ideation, refinement, prototyping and presentation, individually and in teams, using contemporary design thinking in the creation of superior products.
• Students will achieve a working knowledge of materials and methods of manufacture that incorporate principles of sustainability, ethics, and the global consequences.
• Graduates from the B.I.D. program will develop a humanistic approach to the needs of end-users from the point of view of interface, ergonomic, social, historical, and commercial perspectives.

Curriculum

Requirements for Bachelor of Industrial Design