The Design Sandbox

I launched the Design Sandbox for Engaged Learning (DSEL) as a curricular proving ground for interdisciplinary learning and teaching at Montana State University. DSEL’s mission was to do nothing short of transforming the educational experience for students at MSU.

As Founding Director, I worked to provide sustainable space and funding for MSU faculty to create innovative courses that respond nimbly to societal and industry needs. I also team-taught two courses that were cornerstones of this program—Farm to Market and Innovative Ideation. I sourced over 270K in funding from both external and internal grants, which I also managed.

Each DSEL class and/or workshop served an interdisciplinary mix of students who then worked in collaborative teams using the “design thinking” process to spark innovative ideas or projects. Students were encouraged to find their own wicked problems to solve, based on course framing. The DSEL program facilitated course offerings in EVERY college at MSU.

Vintage gas station signs were the inspiration behind these signage prototypes for the DSEL classroom. DSEL (pronounced like diesel, the fuel) utilized gas/fuel references as part of its positioning— including the tagline, Fuel for Thought.

COURSES OFFERED

DSEL Design/Build* Architecture/Design
Innovative Ideation* Business/Engineering/Design
Farm to Market* Business/Design/SFBS
Radical Creativity Architecture/Fine Art/Honors/Physics
Stalking Wild Clay Fine Art/Environmental Sciences
Design Thinking for the Community Engineering/Honors
The Art of Mental Healing Music/Fine Art/Architecture/Film/Photo
Piikani Digital Histories Education/Film
Stress Less: Holistic Health Promotion Nursing + all CAA students
Digital America: Technology Ethics Open to all students
Dinosaurs, Robots and Zombies Open to all students
Writing, Rhetoric, and Printing the Artist’s Book English/Design
Surviving and Thriving in the Freelance Economy Open to all students
Hemp, The Next Frontier Agriculture/Design/SFBS/Business
•co-taught

Farmented was a real-world product that came out of the DSEL Farm to Market course. Two of the students from the three person team went on to launch this line of fermented foods which utilizes ugly, b-grade veggies that farmers cannot sell directly to the public. Farmented helps farmers be more sustainable, and helps consumers have a healthier gut biome. Farmented won over 9K in prize money in entrepreneurship competitions.

Two different installation outcomes from the DSEL Radical Creativity course. Students used their art and architecture skills to explain complicated physics concepts. Projects were installed all over campus and created spaces for meaningful conversation.

Examples of prototypes from different DSEL courses.

The DSEL Farm to Market course won Core 77’s Design Education Initiative Award in 2017. This award was previously won by Stanford d-School and the international design firm, IDEO.

VIDEOS

University communications promo video: Farm to Market course. Real-world food products were produced from these courses.

Shower chair for dementia patients: Innovative Ideation course. This project won over 14K in prize money in entrepreneurship competitions.

Mask redesign for wildland firefighters: Innovative Ideation course. The student team addresses why firefighters wear bandannas instead of safety masks—and provides a solution.