The course has challenges, cases, and critiques — that's the public work, the work you present on Mondays. This workbook is the private work: the thinking underneath, the patterns you're starting to see, the honest account of what you're learning about yourself as a designer.
Each week, I've laid out a few prompts connected to that week's challenge. They're designed to help you notice things you might otherwise overlook — about your process, your taste, your instincts, and where those instincts are wrong.
Set aside 30 minutes of quiet, solo time each week. More if you can. Grab a pen, a notebook, or just type directly into this document. Be honest — no one is grading your honesty, but you'll be glad you were.
By Week 6, your entries here become the raw material for your midterm POV collection. By Week 10, they become the foundation for your final POV statement — your articulation of who you are as a designer and what you believe about design.
Be open to where this takes you.
Dr. Eagle
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Your Design Self Promise
I, , promise my creative self:
What promise will you make to your future self? Perhaps it's staying open to surprise, trusting the process, or being honest about what you actually like. You'll revisit this in Week 10.
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Starting Interests
A snapshot of where you are right now. No wrong answers. You'll revisit this in Week 6 and Week 10.
Three things I know I'm drawn to:
Three things I think I don't like:
One thing I'm curious about but haven't explored:
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Week 1. Self-Knowledge
You designed something from instinct, then redesigned it with data. The gap between V1 and V2 is the most honest measure of what instinct misses. What did you learn?
1.
What did you design in First Instinct? Describe it in one sentence.
2.
What data did you analyze? What surprised you?
3.
How is your V2 different from V1? Be specific.
4.
What does the gap between V1 and V2 tell you about what you think you know vs. what's actually true about yourself?
Describe your image (what is it, where did you find it):
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Week 2
An Iconic Opening
Set aside 30 minutes. Grab a pen.
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Week 2. Designing for Someone Else
This week you moved from self-knowledge to other-knowledge. You interviewed a partner and designed an experience for them — not yourself. What did that shift feel like?
1.
What did you learn from interviewing your partner that you couldn't have guessed?
2.
What was the hardest part of the interview?
3.
Draw or describe the experience journey you designed. What's the emotional arc?
4.
What principle did you transfer from the cases (Disney / Apple Store / Apple Unboxing)?
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Curation Journal — Week 2
One example of "desirable" design I found this week:
Why I picked it:
Describe your image (what is it, where did you find it):
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Week 3
The Heirloom
Set aside 30 minutes. Grab a pen.
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Week 3. What Lasts
You analyzed something that endured and designed something meant to last. What does longevity require? And what does your choice of object reveal about what you value?
1.
What object did you analyze? Why has it lasted?
2.
What did closer examination reveal that instinct missed? (Think back to Week 1 — the same gap applies here.)
3.
What's the hardest part of designing for longevity?
4.
What from your heirloom analysis surprised you about your own values?
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Curation Journal — Week 3
One example of "desirable" design I found this week:
Why I picked it:
Describe your image (what is it, where did you find it):
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Week 4
Everything Is a World
Set aside 30 minutes. Grab a pen.
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Week 4. Listening
You entered someone else's world through interviewing. This is a skill you'll use for the rest of your career. What did it teach you — about them, about listening, about yourself?
1.
What rabbit hole did you enter? Describe it.
2.
Describe your interviewee in three sentences.
3.
What surprised you most about their world?
4.
What question do you wish you had asked?
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Curation Journal — Week 4
One example of "desirable" design I found this week:
Why I picked it:
Describe your image (what is it, where did you find it):
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Week 5
Invisible Senses
Set aside 30 minutes. Grab a pen.
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Week 5. Beyond Vision
You designed for senses you normally ignore. Audio from your Week 4 interview was pure sound design — what else lives in the invisible channels?
1.
Which senses did you engage beyond vision? What did each one add?
2.
What did the interview audio from Week 4 reveal when you listened closely?
3.
Describe a moment in your sensory experience that worked. Why?
4.
What sense do you personally rely on most? Which do you neglect?
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Curation Journal — Week 5
One example of "desirable" design I found this week:
Why I picked it:
Describe your image (what is it, where did you find it):
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Week 6
Curating & Taste
This is the big one. Set aside an hour.
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Week 6. What Do You Actually Like?
Look back at everything — your curation journal, your five projects, your instincts from Week 1. What patterns are emerging? This is the midterm moment: halfway through, what do you know about your own taste that you didn't know before?
Look at your curation journal entries from Weeks 1–5. What patterns do you see?
What kind of desirability keeps showing up?
Complete: "I'm drawn to design that _____"
Which of your 5 projects best represents you right now? Why?
What has changed about your design taste since the "Before" page?
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Curation Journal — Week 6
One example of "desirable" design I found this week:
Why I picked it:
Describe your image (what is it, where did you find it):
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Week 7
Get Out of Your Head
Set aside 30 minutes. Grab a pen.
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Week 7. Fresh Eyes
Three weeks ago you interviewed someone and entered their world. You've had time to sit with what you learned. Now you returned — with AI as a creative antagonist. What did distance and friction reveal?
1.
Re-read your Week 4 interview notes. What do you notice now that you didn't notice then?
2.
What did AI see that you didn't?
3.
Where were you stuck in your own perspective? What broke you out?
4.
How is the final design different from your first instinct about what this person needed?
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Curation Journal — Week 7
One example of "desirable" design I found this week:
Why I picked it:
Describe your image (what is it, where did you find it):
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Weeks 8–9
The Ugly Baby → Less But Better
Set aside 30 minutes. Grab a pen.
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Weeks 8–9. Iteration
You chose one project to revisit, tore it apart, and rebuilt it. Iteration is not fixing — it's seeing what you couldn't see the first time. What did the return trip reveal?
1.
Which project did you choose to revisit? Why this one?
2.
What was "ugly" about V1 that you couldn't see before?
3.
What's the single biggest change between V1 and V2?
4.
What did iteration teach you that starting fresh wouldn't have?
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Curation Journal — Weeks 8–9
One example of "desirable" design I found this week:
Why I picked it:
Describe your image (what is it, where did you find it):
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Week 10
Who Are You Now?
Take your time with this one.
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Week 10. The Full Picture
In Week 1, you analyzed data about your own behavior. Now, 9 projects later, this workbook is the data about who you've become as a designer. Look back at everything. What do you see?
Revisit your Design Self Promise (page 3). Did you keep it?
Revisit your "Before" page (page 4). What changed?
Complete: "As a designer, I _____"
What will you take from this course into whatever comes next?
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Curation Journal — Week 10
One example of "desirable" design I found this week:
Why I picked it:
Describe your image (what is it, where did you find it):
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Design Survivor
Workbook
ENGS 15.15 · Dartmouth DIAD · Dr. Eagle
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