pbds.705

the design/business link

NOTE: This is representative of the syllabi for this course. It is not necessarily the syllabus being used in any one semester.

background

" For many reasons, design must be viewed by business as an absolutely essential competency. .. and design has to become a basic part of business education. At the same time, design students and design professionals must learn to speak the language and culture of business".

--Bruce Nussbaum, editorial page editor, Business Week magazine.

This course is designed to provide UB graduate students with an understanding of the role of design in today's business organizations. As the quote above indicates, design could very well be the major competitive strategy for both manufacturing and service companies in this new century.

Using case histories and class discussions, we will examine the role of design as a competitive business strategy, with an emphasis on the many ways that designers and business people can work together to provide the synergies that successful design can bring to any organization. In order to help business executives and designers make more informed decisions, we will also examine and discuss general business and marketing choices that have been proven wrong or even disastrous.

Class sessions will include lectures, guest speakers, student presentations, and discussions of assigned homework. Thorough and thoughtful class preparation and participation in class discussions is essential and expected.

textbooks & materials:

Required:

• Emotional Brnading, Gobe
• Image Through Design, Chajet

course policies:

Attendance and class contribution: The class meets Tuesdays at 5:30 in BC001. Please be on time for the class, as important administrative information is usually discussed at the beginning of the class. While attendance is not required for this course, since a student's contribution to class discussions will be one of the major components for evaluation of grades, it would be wise for students to make an effort to attend as many classes as possible. In addition, as a professional courtesy, please notify one of the instructors in advance if, for any reason, you will need to miss a class.

class projects:

1) Image & Identity Program:

During the first class, students will be divided into teams of two or three. The class will identify several companies or institutions that are in need of a new image and/or identity. Each team will be assigned the name of one of these companies or institutions and will be asked to carefully research the company or institution, plan a marketing strategy, and develop a comprehensive image/identity program which will be presented to their instructors and classmates at the end of the term.

2) Book Reports:

Each student will be asked to do a book report on the two required textbooks that have been assigned. These reports are to be lucid, lengthy, comprehensive, and

neatly designed and presented. Spelling or grammatical errors will count against the grade. A first draft of both these reports will be due by October 29th. Final reports are due adec.3rd.

3) Weekly assignments:

Each week there will be assigned homework.

grading:

The following weights will be attached to the final grade:

Quality and scope of Image/Identity Program 35%

Quality and professional level of Book Reports 35%

Participation in class discussions 15%

Instructor's evaluation of the quality of a student's effort,

thinking, and understanding of the concepts 15%