Designaverse™
A gamified way to teach design methodology. Designed to introduce students to the design and engineering mindset, Designaverse™ leads groups of 5-10 through an immersive design project. Here is a glimpse into what it could look like.
An Immersive Experience
There would be a bus that is renovated to be an immersive experience for participants. It would come to the school every few weeks for design sessions. In between visits, students would work on projects. The bus would have any tool they would need- whiteboards, craft supplies, technology, etc.... There would be a projector screen on the back wall where an interactive, collaborative digital game board would be displayed. The students would have ipads/ tablets where they can access the game "board" in real-time. They'll be able to check progress, make notes, and edit collaboratively. They can use the ipads to scan in their work and add it to the board as well. This bus should be an efficient workspace, but it should also be immersive. It should feel like they are in the control room of a spaceship. This environment is a key part of what will make it exciting and enjoyable for students to learn how to solve problems and design as a team.
Designaverse™ more than just a game, in that it is intended to be a long project that spans several weeks or even a semester long.
The game itself is informed by the industry standard of design methodology. By looking at engineering mindsets and design models from NASA, Stanford, IDEO, LUMA, and more, I tried to pull from what is working in the real world. Students are learning tried and true methodology that can empower their journeys long after the game concludes.
An instructional booklet contains basic game functions, four formulas, and 32 unique design methods.
Design is a bit like a universe, with millions of galaxies. Every sun represents a problem, and everything in that sun’s galaxy is affected by what happens to that sun. So in the game, you build a galaxy around your problem (represented by the sun). Your design team needs to investigate the problem and create a solution to keep the sun shining bright. Remember, everything that happens to the sun impacts all of the planets (which represent groups of stakeholders)! You will orbit the problem along a path, completing quests (which are methods) along the way. There are three sections of the game and four formulas. For a copy of the instructional booklet, please reach out to me via the “contact ” section of this website.
Game Interface Mockup
The game board has a cyclical journey to reflect the iterative nature of design. The students will work their way through the different formulas by completing three sections of quests. These formulas are essentially checkpoints where they have to pass a series of questions about their progress. When they have successfully passed all of the formulas, they are finished with their design. The three sections of quests are: Inform, Ideate, and Iterate. These three I's represent the three stages of design. Students will learn about the problem (Inform), create solutions (Ideate), and test those solutions (Iterate), checking their work along the way. The board is designed to also host notes about each planet and about the project in general. There is empty space where students can place digital sticky notes and utilize the board as a living document while they work on their project.
Sample formula
Above is an example of the function of formula 4. All formulas follow a similar process and direct the team to the best next step.
Creative Inspiration and Vision
This is a mood-board of the initial inspiration and creative vision for the project. I wanted to end with this because I think it signals to the bigger picture of how I want this project to make participants feel: inspired and excited.
