Extreme environments create extraordinary challenges to human physiological and psychological existence where common expectations for safety, comfort and performance need to be radically redefined. Putting people into unfamiliar or highly dangerous surroundings requires an extreme level of attention to design. It is not enough to design technologies, systems, or equipment that function according to basic technical specifications without incorporating the human needs of the users, the people that will interact with them.

Designing for the physical, emotional and psychological needs of astronauts may seem like an esoteric challenge but it is in situations like these that common assumptions no longer hold true and every aspect of a design must be considered in a new context. This questioning of assumptions and awareness of context are crucial for innovation in a wide array of domains. This studio uses extreme environments as a pedagogical approach to focus design on human needs and interactions, while emphasizing creativity and innovation in tightly constrained situations. 

The skills, methodologies and knowledge acquired in this studio are applicable in a broad range of domains of which aerospace is just one small subset.

This spring the Design for Extreme Environments Studio will consider how to design spacecraft and habitats suitable for extreme environments and long-duration missions, such as those to the Moon or Mars. Students will work in teams, with input from experts at NASA and elsewhere, to provide creative ideation and innovative concepts while helping create the future of space travel.

NASA’s Artemis campaign, over the next years, will explore the Moon for scientific discovery, technology advancement, and to learn how to live and work on another world as we prepare for human missions to Mars. NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, while collaborating with commercial and international partners to establish the first long-term presence on the Moon.
This studio is funded by a grant from the RI Space Grant Consortium, Michael Lye PI, so there are no lab fees and minimal out of pocket expenses. The grant will cover these costs.

One possible short field trip - only during class times.

Major Requirement | BFA Industrial Design, MID (2.5yr): Industrial Design

Chair design is a rite of passage for those interested in the close intermingling between form and function. The exploration and moderation of these two elements will drive the challenges we undertake. In chairs, more than any other piece of furniture, the unit of measurement is the human body, and the relationship between the human form and the chair’s function must be carefully considered. There are an infinite number of chair designs for an infinite number of purposes – chairs for relaxing, working at a desk, gaming, accommodating specific disabilities, use on a plane or train, chairs designed for kids – the list goes on and on.

As designers, we must constantly ask ourselves: Who is this for? How will it be used? And where? This course balances design and shop challenges to seek answers to these three questions in an effort to develop chairs that are comfortable and structurally sound.

The goals for this course are threefold:

(1) Become more comfortable and proficient in the shops, expanding your understanding of material capabilities and limitations.

(2) Gain an understanding of chair construction dos-and don’t, learning to evaluate a chair’s strengths and weaknesses at a glance.

(3) Complete a variety of exercises and produce 2 refined and comfortable chair prototypes – a soft chair and a rigid chair.

This course will be taught through a combination of lectures, discussions, studio demonstrations, student presentations, and critiques. Topics will include user considerations, materials selection, structural integrity, comfort, upholstery, form language, the impact of and on the environment where the chair will be used, technical drawings, repeatable processes, manufacturability, finishes, and packaging. Wood II or Metals II is a prerequisite to take this course.

Major Requirement | BFA Industrial Design, MID (2.5yr): Industrial Design

This hands-on course offers students the opportunity to design cast metal objects. The Investment Casting process and result is much different than experiences students may have working with sheet metal or machined metal. Student projects scope may vary from projects that exist more on the craft side, with the development of single cast objects, or students may choose to develop castings that are a part of a larger system of non-cast components representing a consumer product. Each student will complete the course with castings produced at a local foundry. It gives students a chance to work with professionals in the field to produce castings for each student.

Design processes students engage with during the course include conducting and framing research; establishing design criteria and design drivers; explore iteration rough sketches; build CAD simulations; possibly 3D printing/CNC and or shop related mold making or fabrication processes such as working with the wax-injector and vacuum chamber in the model shop. The goal for all students will be to produce sets of wax master patterns to be provided to the foundry. After the castings are produced secondary metal work and cleanup of the raw castings will be necessary (bronze, silver, gold, possibly aluminum). As an instructor my goal is to expose students to the investment casting manufacturing process due to its sustainable qualities of producing objects that are: durable and offers the opportunity for ornate detail and complexity within metal artifacts. Typically objects with beauty and durability do not end up in the landfill as quickly as many other consumer products that don’t have these qualities.

The ID department will cover the cost of up to $100 for each student’s foundry costs. If students want to develop castings over the $100 the remaining balance would be the student’s responsibility to pay the foundry directly for those additional costs. There will be additional costs for materials depending on what students want to develop that will not be paid for by the ID department. Some of those additional costs might be for things like rubber mold kits, high resolution 3D prints, plywood for use with the CNC router and so on. It will really depend on each student’s budget and what they plan to design that could affect the cost of pre-casting design development and fabrication activities for each student.

Major Requirement | BFA Industrial Design, MID (2.5yr): Industrial Design

Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State because it is just 37 miles wide and 48 miles long, with over 400 miles of shoreline. A healthy planet needs healthy oceans, and this semester, students will use their design skills on projects focused on ocean ecology and sustainability.

This studio is inspired by the Possibility Ocean Conference, which will be held in the Spring of 2025 and hosted by Giant Shoulders and Big Dreams, two design firms founded by RISD Industrial Design Department alums.

To quote a recent article from the conference website entitled: Why Are Designers Starting An Ocean Data Conference? “As designers, our superpower is crafting a high-definition picture of a future so compelling it rallies innovators and partners to make it real. Over the past five years, we've developed brands and contributed to shaping the bluetech narrative. However, we recognize that there's still a long road ahead.

Scientific knowledge alone doesn't move the needle toward a better future. Creative perspectives, compelling storytelling, and the courage to ask audacious questions help us approach intractable problems in new ways. Real change happens when we ask audacious questions so we can discover what we don't know, spark dialogue, and shift our mindset from problems to solutions. Compelling narratives connect us to our past, present, and future. They connect us to each other and to ourselves. They are the way that we make sense of the world. At Possibility Ocean, we are gathering leaders and change-makers in Bluetech, science, finance, government, and industry to shape the innovation narrative for our ocean's future.

Major Requirement | BFA Industrial Design, MID (2.5yr): Industrial Design

Industrial Design bears the burden of planned obsolescence which are inherited strategies that ensure a product will not last in order to drive sales. The way our objects have been and continue to be made, distributed and marketed are embedded with consumerist ideas that in turn, have produced devastating environmental, social and cultural effects. The legacy of our sector has contributed to overproduction, overconsumption and a culture of rampant disposability that has led to a global waste management stream of invisible and hazardous labor conditions for people and the environment.

Electric fans cool, warm, dry, exhaust and circulate air in domestic, institutional and industrial settings. Spinning blades to move air are found everywhere from our living rooms to our laptops. As appliances and simple mechanisms, they are ubiquitous and require frequent repair and cleaning. So, how do planned obsolescence and fans connect? In this shop and theory based Advanced Design Studio, we will work with the Electric Fan as a guide to analyze and intervene in arrangements of planned obsolescence, production and disposal, maintenance, domesticity and comfort, urgency and efficiency, energy and urbanism, and beauty and function. We will learn about the use and development of electric fans in relation to the changing climate, locally and globally.

The first part of the semester’s projects is dedicated to disassembly, reassembly and experimentation introducing you to basic electronics, motor functions, physical computing, and applying strategies to design for repair in mind. We will disassemble products and systems, including manufacturing processes, industrial waste streams and learning about the people who work in these sectors.

The second part of the semester is dedicated to self-driven research, prototyping and iteration of your ideas focusing on audience and impact. We will analyze and practice methods of repair—the tangible and intangible alike—patching our tires, basic electronics, milling or printing new parts, Right to Repair policies and engaging with contemporary and historical cultures of DIY and internet-based open-source communities of practice. Our learning will happen through setting our studio culture together and developing communication and collaboration skills in individual and group projects, making in shops, and field trips within Rhode Island to apply concepts of reharvesting and repair at small and large systemic scales. Throughout the semester will be engaging with text, expressing reflections through writing, zines and discussions to develop a critical stance on sustainability and circularity and articulate how you see that applied in your own work and practice moving forward.

Major Requirement | BFA Industrial Design, MID (2.5yr): Industrial Design

MIT STUDIO teaches modern tools and methods for product design and development. Teams consisting of MIT Sloan MBA students, MIT Engineering students, and undergraduate RISD Industrial Design students conceive, design, and prototype a physical product over the course of the semester. An "alpha prototype" is presented by each team at the end of the course.

Project ideas come from the students in the class and are rated (by students) for potential. The most promising opportunities (rated by student interest) will be used to form project teams for the remainder of the semester. Each team will be allocated a $1000 budget for product development. The course is generously supported by a small number of sponsors, who may also suggest one or more project opportunities for your consideration.

The class is primarily intended for seniors in Industrial Design and is jointly taught by RISD faculty Heewon Lee and MIT faculty; Prof. Steven Eppinger and Prof. Maria Yang. The first half of each class session will generally be in lecture and discussion format, and the second half will be used for project team meetings and consultation with faculty. 

NOTE: Lectures are held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at MIT Sloan in Cambridge MA. This class requires students to travel to Cambridge twice a week for the semester. Transportation costs outside of the Add/Drop period are covered by RISD for MBTA Commuter Rail and T-Subway System.

Major Requirement | BFA Industrial Design, MID (2.5yr): Industrial Design

Graduate Thesis Communications II is a studio course run in parallel with our sibling studio course which focuses on completing your thesis. Together, we will spend the spring semester finishing the thesis and thesis book that you proposed at the end of Graduate Thesis Communications I. We continue to think about writing as a design tool and as a communication tool. For this course, we put more emphasis on the communication aspect. Together, we will continue to refine and strengthen the manner by which you explain your thesis to yourself and others. We will think about audience, voice, structure, and form. We will explore different ways of communicating the same idea in different contexts and mediums (visual, oral, written). We will examine how to share our work and with whom. At the end of the course, you will have a complete thesis.

Enrollment is limited to Graduate Industrial Design Students.

Major Requirement | MID Industrial Design

Graduate Thesis Communications II is a studio course run in parallel with our sibling studio course which focuses on completing your thesis. Together, we will spend the spring semester finishing the thesis and thesis book that you proposed at the end of Graduate Thesis Communications I. We continue to think about writing as a design tool and as a communication tool. For this course, we put more emphasis on the communication aspect. Together, we will continue to refine and strengthen the manner by which you explain your thesis to yourself and others. We will think about audience, voice, structure, and form. We will explore different ways of communicating the same idea in different contexts and mediums (visual, oral, written). We will examine how to share our work and with whom. At the end of the course, you will have a complete thesis.

Enrollment is limited to Graduate Industrial Design Students.

Major Requirement | MID Industrial Design

This class will cover basic camera optics and lighting techniques necessary to generate high quality digital images for either print or digital portfolio applications. The focus of the class is to master manual controls on the digital camera such as film and shutter speed settings in conjunction with aperture openings to obtain whatever the desired effect might be to best represent two and three-dimensional objects. Manipulation of natural and artificial lighting is the other main focus of the class. Students will learn the use of fill and bounce cards with sun, tungsten and strobe light sources. The emphasis will be on the strobe lighting studio where through a series of assignments students will learn direct, diffused reflected lighting techniques. Students will be required to participate in the final critique during the final week of the semester.

Elective

This class will cover basic camera optics and lighting techniques necessary to generate high quality digital images for either print or digital portfolio applications. The focus of the class is to master manual controls on the digital camera such as film and shutter speed settings in conjunction with aperture openings to obtain whatever the desired effect might be to best represent two and three-dimensional objects. Manipulation of natural and artificial lighting is the other main focus of the class. Students will learn the use of fill and bounce cards with sun, tungsten and strobe light sources. The emphasis will be on the strobe lighting studio where through a series of assignments students will learn direct, diffused reflected lighting techniques. Students will be required to participate in the final critique during the final week of the semester.

Elective

This class will cover basic camera optics and lighting techniques necessary to generate high quality digital images for either print or digital portfolio applications. The focus of the class is to master manual controls on the digital camera such as film and shutter speed settings in conjunction with aperture openings to obtain whatever the desired effect might be to best represent two and three-dimensional objects. Manipulation of natural and artificial lighting is the other main focus of the class. Students will learn the use of fill and bounce cards with sun, tungsten and strobe light sources. The emphasis will be on the strobe lighting studio where through a series of assignments students will learn direct, diffused reflected lighting techniques. Students will be required to participate in the final critique during the final week of the semester.

Elective

Graduate Thesis Communications I is a studio course run in parallel with our sibling studio course which focuses on design research methods. Together, we will spend the fall semester casting about, planning and prototyping towards some kind of design proposal or product for execution in the spring. We think about writing in two ways. First as a design tool and second as a communication tool. On the tool for design side, we think about the many ways that writing can help clarify and quickly test out ideas. We think about writing as a form of rapid prototyping alongside sketching, model making, etc. We talk about what writing is good at, when other methods might be more useful, and when to combine methods. We use writing to help clarify and crystalize the thesis plan. On the communication side, we think about the many ways that writing surrounds a designed object (as a proposal, as sales copy, as instructions to users, as specs for manufacture, as criticism, etc.). We think about the audiences for those various kinds of writing and how to think about what they want and need. We talk about the thesis as a tool for explaining the design but also as a tool for helping you advance your career goals. At the end of the course, you will have a partially complete draft of your thesis. which will set you up for an excellent spring.

Enrollment in this course is limited to Graduate Industrial Design Students.

Major Requirement | MID Industrial Design

Graduate Thesis Communications I is a studio course run in parallel with our sibling studio course which focuses on design research methods. Together, we will spend the fall semester casting about, planning and prototyping towards some kind of design proposal or product for execution in the spring. We think about writing in two ways. First as a design tool and second as a communication tool. On the tool for design side, we think about the many ways that writing can help clarify and quickly test out ideas. We think about writing as a form of rapid prototyping alongside sketching, model making, etc. We talk about what writing is good at, when other methods might be more useful, and when to combine methods. We use writing to help clarify and crystalize the thesis plan. On the communication side, we think about the many ways that writing surrounds a designed object (as a proposal, as sales copy, as instructions to users, as specs for manufacture, as criticism, etc.). We think about the audiences for those various kinds of writing and how to think about what they want and need. We talk about the thesis as a tool for explaining the design but also as a tool for helping you advance your career goals. At the end of the course, you will have a partially complete draft of your thesis. which will set you up for an excellent spring.

Enrollment in this course is limited to Graduate Industrial Design Students.

Major Requirement | MID Industrial Design

This course is intended to introduce basic sewing skills and soft goods construction techniques in
bag making and soft product design. Students will learn how to operate standard industrial sewing
machines and create three-dimensional products from flat patterns. Fabric and notion selection
for product performance will be taught as students learn to prototype and create final models of bags
and soft products. Access to a portable sewing machine is suggested, as the eight industrial
machines will be shared. You will be given some basic sewing supplies, but will need to purchase
additional materials based on your class projects.

Elective

This design seminar provides strategies for advanced research, frameworks for experimental practice in design, and prepares students for pursuing individual projects such as a thesis and deals with a range of scales and contexts through a series of structured experiments and collective engagements in design.

Experimental design practices; refers to design as a situation that deliberately sits at the edge of discipline. This studio/seminar class encourages students to explore diverse contexts and issues through projects and texts that consider the impact of design with new technologies, material exploration and ecologies, economic systems, culture and society. We will explore design as a means to understand and engage with social order, to adopt an open investigative approach to questioning cultural products and practices and how they affect and enforce the perspectives; values, ideas and beliefs that underpin contemporary society in an expanded exploration of contemporary design and its literacy.

What opportunities can free thinking design practitioners uncover through direct exploration of the complexity of design’s role in developing political, cultural, economic systems and social structures as products? Within this class we will reassess the discipline, and reconsider the practice of design, free from the marketplace, but not exclusionary. Allowing an autonomous position to question and challenge a broad range of cultural phenomena, patterns of social interaction and the behaviors in which they are used.

This class will work across both conceptual and material experiments; from tangible objects and interfaces to intangible material processes such as the use of AI as a material exploration. The class will be taught through a series of technical demonstrations, workshops, project briefs, visiting guest speakers and external critiques. The outcome of which will be a series of products / tools / interactions that seek to question social, economic and political order of not only how things are made, but in what context, why and for whom.

Elective

This class provides new and current Ceramics, Glass, Jewelry + Metalsmithing students with a comprehensive safety orientation for future use of the wood facility in the Fine Arts Division. Instructor will orient students in the safe operation of stationary machines in the wood facility, including the miter saw, band saw, table saw, disc sander, drum sander, drill press, and panel saw. Instruction will also be provided for different ways of building and joining with wood through the use of hand tools and stationary machines. Passing this course is required in order to use all machines in the Fine Arts wood facility.

Elective

This class provides new and current Ceramics, Glass, Jewelry + Metalsmithing students with a comprehensive safety orientation for future use of the wood facility in the Fine Arts Division. Instructor will orient students in the safe operation of stationary machines in the wood facility, including the miter saw, band saw, table saw, disc sander, drum sander, drill press, and panel saw. Instruction will also be provided for different ways of building and joining with wood through the use of hand tools and stationary machines. Passing this course is required in order to use all machines in the Fine Arts wood facility.

Elective

This class provides new and current Ceramics, Glass, Jewelry + Metalsmithing students with a comprehensive safety orientation for future use of the wood facility in the Fine Arts Division. Instructor will orient students in the safe operation of stationary machines in the wood facility, including the miter saw, band saw, table saw, disc sander, drum sander, drill press, and panel saw. Instruction will also be provided for different ways of building and joining with wood through the use of hand tools and stationary machines. Passing this course is required in order to use all machines in the Fine Arts wood facility.

Elective

The material qualities of textile design and fabrication refer to our relationship to all aspects of the physical and tangible world. While computation has long been responsible for pushing the traditional techniques of textiles to high levels of mechanical industrial expression, digital sensibility and know-how of digital technologies are now increasingly seen as means to push the frontier and very definition of fabric. Parallel advances in digital fabrication and the invention of smart materials now allow for added dimensionality and functionality in fabric, and computation is a key interface for material exploration. In this course, students will learn to modulate the performance and behavior of fabric through its geometry and other systems of continuous structural surface within a computational framework. This course will provide students with the opportunity to push the boundaries of fabric design across disciplines and studio practices.

Estimated Cost of Materials: Varies by project.

Please contact the department for permission to register. 

Elective

In the NCSS Core Seminar, students explore key issues in nature-culture-sustainability studies, developing an interdisciplinary understanding of the need for integrative approaches to issues including mobility and infrastructure, environmental justice and equity, sustainable food and water systems and the very real present and future of climate change. Beginning with definitions of nature and natural systems, drawn from environmental literature and history, we will dig into questions of what we mean by "culture" and "sustainability". The vitality of the ecologic and social and built environment upon which we all depend will form the core of our investigations. How and where we live matters; in the present Anthropocene, questions of resiliency and adaptation take on ever greater urgency. We will study contemporary conditions with examples from across the globe, with an eye to understanding how innovation and creative practices in art and design impact future planetary health. This course lays the foundation for students pursuing the NCSS concentration. The seminar will include lectures and discussions of readings and case studies. Occasional guests will include scientists, designers and others engaged at the forefront of environmental activism and research. Students may ground their final course project in a topic connected to their own work, relating it to their major or another concentration, in addition to NCSS.

Open to Sophomore, Junior and Seniors

Elective