In its methodology, International Design School incorporates in-depth teaching of consumer insights, iterative design, creative techniques and prototyping that target to address the needs of the users, consumers and stakeholders of an endless variety of products or services. Instead of showing the students that the process of design is a creation of a single functional product, IDS imbues the full spectrum of innovation activities with a human-centered design ethos.
Design Thinking concept which forms the basis of the IDS curriculum, was first established by Nigel Cross, then described by Peter Rowe, expanded by Rolf Faste at Stanford University as a method of creative action, and adapted for business purposes by David Kelley of IDEO. The concept addresses the technological viability of a design solution, the feasibility of its practical implementation, and the needs and demands of the end user. The centerpiece of the design decision is a human being, the customer, the ultimate consumer of a product or a service. In that respect, the concept of Design Thinking relies on a human-centered ethos.
Human-centered, aka user-centered or user experience design - UX Design methodology (“Who is this for?”) is laid as a basis for IDS philosophy, aiming to produce usability specialists, fascinated by ergonomics and cognitive sciences, and leading to co-designing which changing roles of the designer, the researcher and the person formerly known as the “user”: Co-Designing addresses the customer value perception. Therefore, IDS do not intend to just produce automotive, graphic, interior, architectural, or other conventional designers. The school aims to provide its students with a comprehensive knowledge of modern tools and methods of design practice in the real world, in which they can navigate armed with a certain degree of working experience.
Over the course of their studies, the IDS students learn to find the design, architectural and urban development solutions even for complex structural tasks. They start to understand that the design problems are “wicked problems” which are ill-defined or tricky when problems and solutions are unknown at the outset of the problem-solving exercise and we can address these through the use of analogies and that the design process starts with the inspiration phase, followed by ideation or “idea-generation”. They become well-versed in methods of analysis and research, creative and artistic techniques, forms of expression and drafting methods, basics of scientific research and writing as well as communication techniques. Our university promotes the acquisition of knowledge in the fields of ethics, ecology, economy and aesthetics, which complement the broader interdisciplinary education of architects and designers. The focus is on a high creative standard with which architects and designers can contribute to the social welfare.