Industrial Design

About this opportunity

The Industrial Design program prepares students for a professional career in product design, specializing in the development of manufactured objects used by people on a daily basis. By developing products that are innovative, useful, safe, aesthetically appropriate, ecologically sound and socially beneficial, the industrial design profession serves the needs of society, consumers, manufacturers and the environment. Examples of student work can be viewed here. 

Barrett students will work on their senior design project for the studio thesis at a much deeper and more resolved level than the other studio members. Students will do all the design work required for the studio while also integrating/applying their research interests into the project for the honors thesis. 

Thesis

The honors students from Industrial Design program work with their studio Instructor and a Design School Barrett Honors Faculty Advisor (Prof. Dosun Shin) to do work beyond the scope of the studio research topic. During the first week of the spring semester students meet with the studio Instructor (who will act as their thesis director) and a Design School Barrett Honors Faculty Advisor to plan their course of study, deadlines, and deliverables for the Honors Thesis/Creative Project. Students’ thesis/creative project director is normally the design studio instructor and the 2nd reader is usually a Design School Barrett Faculty Honors Advisor. If the studio instructor is not a faculty member (i.e. they are a Faculty Associate), their director must be either another Industrial Design faculty member, or the Barrett Faculty Honors Advisor, who will monitor and advise them to make sure that they are meeting both the criteria of the honors thesis and the senior studio.

The written portion of their honors thesis project is a document that illustrates an understanding of the research topic, their methodology for integrating and applying the topic within their studio project, a conclusion as to the result of the application of the research in the design project, a review of literature, a bibliography, and illustrations. Students should integrate their design solutions into the document as support for the argument of their thesis project.

Academic Preparation

For the upper-division honors credit honors, students are required to take the directed study/proposal (IND492, 1 credit) in the Spring of their Junior year and thesis (Senior Studio, 5 credits) in the Spring of their Senior year. 

As per the Barrett Honors College recommendations, students must have a Thesis Director and Second Committee Member. The Design School adheres to these guidelines, but reserves the option to add on a third reader or co-director from the faculty or from the professional community on a case-by-case basis.

Recommended Timeline

An honors thesis normally receives 6 semester-hours credit, and the process is divided into two parts: honors directed study/proposal (IND492, 1 credit) undertaken in the Spring of their Junior year and thesis (Senior Studio/ 5 credits) in the Spring of their Senior year. The two courses (IND492 and Senior Studio IND461/IVD494) count as courses for upper division honors credit. Because students are required to show a 5 credit design studio to graduate in Industrial Design discipline from The Design School, students will register for their required senior spring studio, and the Honors College will note on their transcript that Senior Studio substitutes for their 493 required course. The thesis process concludes with an oral defense at which the student presents. https://design.asu.edu/resources/students/internships

Other Honors Opportunities

Honors enrichment contracts are created on a case-by-case basis, and students may inquire about them in their courses each semester. Industrial design students also follow an internship program to balance classroom theory with periods of practical, hands-on experience before graduation. Internship credit will count as honors credit.