Design Thinking

At the Design Thinking Initiative (DTI), we believe that thinking through making and transforming our worlds through design are critical capacities that lead to student agency and responsible innovation. We question gender, race, ethnicity, power, and ability as dynamics that shape who gets to participate in creating the worlds in which we live. As makers, we challenge extraction and obsolescence, explore alternative materials, and hold a long view when thinking about the impacts of what we make. This kind of critical engagement with design and making in service of broader social issues is how we work to advance these practices. DTI integrates these teaching and learning opportunities into the Smith experience through the curriculum, co-curricular programming, and offerings that bridge curricular, co-curricular programming, and the world beyond. 

We work with faculty across disciplines to stitch distinct design methodologies to diverse learning goals. We offer courses that introduce students to design ontologies, methodologies, and techniques and play an integral role in two concentrations: Collaborative Innovation and Interdisciplinary Making. As a makerspace within a women’s college, we are committed to providing access to traditional craft technologies alongside digital fabrication tools because the latter would not exist without the former. Student leaders in our space foster a safe and welcoming studio environment while supporting peers in their imaginative pursuits.