Hampshire College

Applied Design courses at Hampshire College use assistive technology as a teaching medium and include areas such as soft goods design and construction, mechanical design, and universal design and fabrication techniques. Issues covered include the principles of applied design, anatomy and ergonomics, problem-solving and need-finding, market influence on design, prototype building and testing, consumer research, establishing design parameters, intellectual property protection, the principles of etrepreneurship and the impact of our society's aging on design. Courses are experiential and include student participation in prototype construction, with some of this student-created equipment placed into the hands of the public for real world use. In addition to semester-long academic courses, the Lemelson Center offers co-curricular courses, workshops, seminars, technical trainings, and January term classes.

The Applied Design and Assistive Technology program is part of Hampshire College's School for Interdisciplinary Arts. At the core of this school is the assumption that the study of art should be grounded in practice and process. The school's three central tenets are Interdisciplinarity, Art and Social Action, and Art and Technology. The Lemelson Center embodies all three of these tenets by incorporating an interdisciplinary approach to the process of design; by addressing the impact of design on social needs; and by specifically investigating the design and the process of discovery that can greatly affect technology.

The Lemelson Center also offers introductory workshops, called Trainings, in a wide variety of design and fabrication skills. The trainings, which include both introductory and advanced sessions, are intended to give students the skills necessary to design and fabricate assistive technology and universal design prototypes and other types of innovative projects.

For a sample of course descriptions continue below. Additionally, further down is a more comprehensive list of course title offered in the past several years.

Bicycle Design & Beyond: The humble bicycle is the most efficient means of human transport yet conceived. It easily carries ten times its weight, a feat unmatched by any other mode of transportation. One hundred fifty years ago the bicycle was the high technology of its day, evoking a vision of high-speed travel and mobility, even for people of modest means. Intense technological and commercial development driven by the bicycle craze of the 19th century paved the way for modern automobile and airplane manufacturing. The history of bicycle design is a lively story of two centuries of human creativity buffeted within an ever-changing social context. From the early days of the industrial revolution to today's era of globalization, this is a story of amazing inventors, rich success, boom-and-bust business cycles, and also of failures, bankruptcy and missed opportunity. This course is for students who are interested in human powered transportation. Each student will research and develop their own design for a human powered transportation device. This project will be documented in a design notebook or portfolio, and will be formally presented to the class at the end of the semester. No prior shop skills are required, and there is no requirement to actually build a working prototype. This device does not have to be a bicycle and it does not necessarily have to be practical. Detailed drawings, scale models, and a thorough and articulate presentation are highly recommended, however. Theory and practice of drawing, sketching, computer-aided-design, model-making, general machine-shop practice, and presentation techniques will be introduced in class. Much can be learned from the success and failures of others, thus throughout the semester we will study and analyze the above-mentioned history of the bicycle, including readings from texts including David Gordon Wilson's Bicycling Science, David V. Herlihy's Bicycle, and Mike Burrow's Bicycle Design. Hands-on review of bicycle variants will be conducted on a weekly basis, including recumbents, velocars, tandems, rickshaws, folding bikes, wheelchairs, and unicycles. We will also have several guest speakers and a field trip or two.

Kinetic and Animated Objects: In this course, students will learn about and create objects with kinetic function. We will investigate ideas originating within the traditions of Da Vinci, Renaissance invention, and modern to contemporary art. Technical instruction will include a review of simple machines, mechanical and thermodynamic principles, and training on selected metalworking machinery This course will consist of 3 or 4 assigned projects, and a final independent project. In addition, students will be required to research and present the work of a contemporary kinetic artist or designer; presentations will be midterm.

Introduction to Soft Goods Design: This course involves understanding the design process through soft goods equipment design. Students will be introduced experientially to applied design principles. Students will learn basic sewing and soft goods construction techniques by designing and creating a series of useful soft goods items including clothing and functional outdoor products, with special focus on equipment that improves the lives of people with disabilities. Each project will build on the skills and techniques learned from the last. Students will keep a design log to track and understand their design process. No previous design or sewing experience is required. Additional topics of discussion include: anatomy, ergonomics, design for people with special needs, establishing design parameters, and market influence on design.

Creative Electronics: This course will familiarize the student with some of the basic creative applications of electronics. A central element in this process will be examining and modifying common electronic devices. This approach focuses on the physical and functional aspects of electronics and encourages an understanding of application through hands on experience rather than a study of theory. This also encourages the student to look to pre existing devices for artistic materials rather than building everything from scratch. This will be a project based course and most in class time will be spent experimenting and building. Prior experience with electronics is not necessary, but the student should be comfortable using simple hand tools. Each student will be supplied with a course kit. This will include all the necessary tools as well as a variety of common and useful electrical components. This course satisfies Division I distribution requirements.

Design Fundamentals: This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of applied design. Through various design activities and a major course project focused on assistive technology (equipment designed for people with disabilities) and/or appropriate technology (equipment designed to be fabricated and serviced with locally available materials and tools), students will gain experience and understanding of the design process from ideation to the creation of prototypes. Students will work with a range of design tools and skills, such as mock up making, prototyping, research methods, material applications, fabrication techniques, product aesthetics and usability.

Appropriate Technology in the Developing World: This course will look at the issues involved with design and fabrication in situations where there are limited resources. Students will engage in the hands-on study and design of technologies considered appropriate for less developed economies. Topics will include water quality, human powered cargo transportation, energy production, food storage and preparation, and wheelchair technologies. We will consider factors that make for successful adoption and widespread use of appropriate technologies.

Animals, Robots and Applied Design: This is a hands-on course in which students will create mechanical animal models based on their observations of live animal behaviors. Mechanical models of animals are used in both art and science. Students will learn observation techniques, design and fabrication skills, basic electronics and simple programming. This is a class for students with skills or interests in any of the following: electronics, robotics, animal behavior, programming, metal, wood or plastics fabrication. This will be a highly collaborative setting in which students will be responsible for sharing their own specialized skills. Students can expect introductory assignments to learn basic skills, followed by a term project. We will also examine work being done by scientists and artists who combine the study of animals with robotics and mechanical design.

Social Entrepreneurship: Starting Your Own Socially Responsible Enterprise: This course will give participants an introduction to social entrepreneurship and be focused on enterprise creation. Through readings, case studies and other activities this course will start by exploring what social entrepreneurship is and the impact that it has on society. From this exploration we will go on to investigate how social enterprises are created and the types of organizational structures that constitute them. The latter part of the course will largely be devoted to the creation of a social enterprise concept plan and pitch for your enterprise. Participants in this course will be expected to actively research relevant social entrepreneurial material and share it with others in the course. Art and disability will be prominent perspectives though which the course will view social entrepreneurship.

3D Design and Model-making: This course is a hands-on introduction to the art of model making. 3-D models can be instrumental in developing ideas and concepts, and in conveying these ideas and concepts to others. Models have been used throughout history to analyze, educate, entertain, and sell in diverse fields such as sculpture, industrial design, engineering, architecture, set design and medicine. Principal types of models to be introduced and discussed in this course will be study models, demonstration models, presentation models, product models, and scale models. Actual samples will be examined and dissected. Fabrication techniques will be taught and practiced, using basic materials such as cardboard, sharp blades and glue. No prior shop skills are required.

TechnoSalvation: Can there be too much technology? We will consider the common assumptions we hold about what we need to live well. We will learn fabrication techniques using basic tools and discarded objects - so we can learn to do what is done all around the world, where people do not have the seemingly boundless resources we have in the United States. We will look to countries such as Cuba, Ghana and Namibia and strive to mimic the ingenuity and resourcefulness of people living in these regions. We will also look at wind and water powered machines production machines from the early industrial revolution. This course will include films, discussion, readings, and trips to the junkyard and local dumpsters. Proposed class projects will include a forge and blower made from old car parts, and a pedal powered dough mixer.

Recent Applied Design Courses Offered:
Advanced Blacksmithing
Advanced Soft Goods Design: Distance Collaboration
Animals, Robots, and Applied Design
Appropriate and Assistive Technology in the Developing World: How to Build a Whirlwind Wheelchair
Appropriate Design in the Developing World
Basic Blacksmithing
Bicycle Design and Beyond
Bicycle Frame Building Clinic
But Were Afraid to Ask
Circuit Bending
Color Practice and Theory
Creative Electronics
Design Conspiracy Student Group
Design Fundamentals
Design Fundamentals I: Building the Backbone of Your Design Abilities
Designing All the Way, from Concept through Production
Designing and Fabricating Three-Dimensional Models
Designing for Humans: Applying Universal Design Principles
Disability Seminars: Everything You Wanted to Know,
Electronics for the Visual Artist, Musician, and Designer
Fabrication Shop Trainings
Fabrication Skills
Got a Light? Creative Lamp Construction
Introduction to C.A.D. (Computer Aided Design)
Introduction to Soft Goods
Look Ma No Hands
Metacognition, Problem Posing and Solving: A Bag of Tricks for Design and Invention
Model Making
Sculpture, Sound & Motion
Skill Building Soft Goods Design: Distance Collaboration
Social Entrepreneurship
Stained Glass Techniques Workshop
Stained Glass: Techniques of Craft and Expression
Technosalvation
The Chair: Functional and Sculptural Approaches
The Human/Machine Interface
Women's Fabrication Skills