Product Design (Independent Study)
I was interested in enrolling in a summer program or class focused on Product Design, but I found that most options were either too expensive or lacked academic depth. Instead of settling for a surface-level experience, I decided to create my own summer intensive that would allow me to explore the subject in greater detail.
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I structured my self-study course like a typical academic class using a product development textbook, supplemented with additional materials:
Daily Readings: Textbook chapters and supplemental book readings.
Chapter Questions: Short discussion-post style responses from the back of the book.
Case Studies: Analyses from MIT OpenCourseWare and Harvard Business School (Publishing Education).
Video Lectures: Relevant lectures from OCW and YouTube.
I spent about 12 hours/week on this course.
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MIT publishes free college course material. I used Product Design and Development (15.783J) to help structure the curriculum and to source lectures and case studies.
I chose this course specifically because it was taught by Steven Eppinger, the author of the Product Design and Development textbook. Some material was difficult to learn, so having both the textbook and lectures structured in in a similar way helped out a lot.
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Primary Textbook:
Product Design and Development 7th edition by Karl Ulrich, Steven Eppinger and Maria C. Yang
Supplemental Reading:
Materials and Design: The Art and Science of Material Selection in Product Design, 3rd Edition by Mike Ashby, Kara Johnson
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation
Design for a Better World by Don Norman
Wabi-Sabi: For Artists, Designers, and Poets
Case Studies:
Thomke, Stefan, and Ashok Nimgade. “IDEO Product Development.” Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Case 9-600-143, June 22, 2000.
Bowen, H. Kent, and Thomas Everett. “SweetWater.” Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Case 9-695-026, November 1, 1994.
