The document outlines a proposed Bachelor of Individualized Study (B.I.S.) degree in Design Strategy. It begins by defining design strategy as a new discipline that helps firms decide what to make, why, and how to innovate over the long term by using design methods to generate strategies. It then discusses why the individual wants to pursue this self-designed major over the existing design programs, noting that it allows acquiring unique interdisciplinary skills. The proposal outlines the objectives, core competencies, and course requirements for the B.I.S. in Design Strategy, which combines aspects of industrial design, marketing, and cultural anthropology.

1. Design
is not just pretty products,
it’s a Strategy for
change.
B.I.S. Design Strategy
Lauren Magrisso

2. Copyright © 2011 by Lauren Magrisso
All rights reserved.
Second Edition.

3. WHAT WHY HOW

4. WHAT

5. The world of design is on the cusp of Design drives innovation,
innovation powers brands,
change. Design is rapidly moving from brands build loyalty,
and loyalty sustains profits.
posters and toasters to include processes, If you want long term
profits, don’t start with
systems and organizations. Design is now technology –Start with
design.
seen as a strategic business tool.
-Marty Neumeier
BusinessWeek

6. “Designers need to be more than
ambassadors, they need to be
fully functioning and fully aware
members of strategic decision
making teams in a company.”
-Nathan Shedroff
Chair, MBA Design Strategy, CCA

7. A new discipline is
emerging from this change.
It is called Design Strategy.
“Design Strategy is the discipline which helps firms decide what to make and do, why do it and
how to innovate contextually, both immediately and over the long term.
Design strategists act in the crossroads of design, research insight and business strategy, and use
design methods to generate and illustrate strategies” (Wikipedia).
Design Strategists are hybrid professionals.

8. WHY

9. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living
someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by
dogma - which is living with the results of
other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise
of other’s opinions drown out your own
inner voice. And most important, have the
courage to follow your heart and intuition.
They somehow already know what you
truly want to become. Everything else is
secondary.”
-Steve Jobs

10. About Me:
Creating this degree offered me the opportunity to do some soul searching.
Not only did I need to identify the skills I would want to acquire through my
program, but I also sought to recognize my personal strengths that I can offer
society. Here are some of my findings:
Life Ethos:
I recently become conscious to the benefits of synergy, that the result is greater than the sum of its parts.
A self-proclaimed Wannabe Polymath, I realize it is the combination of my passions that make up who I am,
and I have sought to reflect this in my studies.
Mission:
Based on these characteristics, my mission is to create a more socially, environmentally, and economically
sustainable future through means of innovation, collaboration, and empathy.
Personality Type:
Myers Briggs Personality Test said I’m an ENFP. I “need to feel that I am living my life as my true Self, walking
in step with what I believe is right. I see meaning in everything, and am on a continuous quest to adapt my
life and values to achieve inner peace.” Pursuing this self-designed major feels right.
Fun Facts:
I lived in rural India for three months and worked for an NGO that empowers tribal women by providing
home-based fair trade handicraft employment. When I got off the plane, my ride wasn’t there to pick me
up. I also got five stitches in a rural hospital after a motorcycle accident. I now know I can do anything.

11. The University of Cincinnati has a world-renowned
design school. Why would I leave it to start my own
major?
Design Strategy is the new fronteir for design. Institutions by their very nature take longer to adapt to
change. As we move from a material culture to a value culture, the interdisciplinary skill sets of B.I.S. Design
Strategy are being expected of designers.
The B.I.S Design Strategy degree allows me to acquire a unique skill set that will be highly marketable in
the competitive job environment. The program allows me to accomplish my educational and career goals
while gaining a strong liberal arts foundation and becoming a critical thinker.
The B.I.S. Design Strategy program is cutting edge. It has recieved exremely positive feedback from those
in industry as it understands that “design is best approached from a multitude of disciplines” (Tim Brown).
I see the value of undergraduate education as a time to explore the world of knowledge and connect the
dots between disciplines. I plan to continue my education and recieve a graduate degree in a program that
combines the design and business disciplines. From my inquiry, my B.I.S. degree will make me highly prepared
and competitve for those programs.

12. HOW

13. The B.I.S. in Design Strategy is a hybrid degree of the Industrial Design, Marketing, and Cultural
Anthropology disciplines. Any one of these degrees completed alone would not provide the
necessary combination of skill-sets that the role of a design strategist utilizes.

14. Synthesis
Anthropology provides strong
aptitude in research skills
and social phenomenon, but
does not touch on industry
applications of design thinking
or business strategy
Marketing provides strong
aptitude in business and brand
strategy, but does not touch
on design thinking or user
experience research.
Industrial Design provides strong aptitude
in design methodology, but does not
touch on holistic business strategy or
social science theory.

15. Program Objectives
Methods:
Trend Forecasting
Product Development
Interdisciplinary Problem Solving
User-Centered Research
Critical Analysis
Design Process
Skills:
Collaboration
Creativity
Professionalism
Leadership
Teamwork
Presentation
Communication
Verbal
Written
Visual
Each one of the program objectives breaks Knowledge:
down into the six core competencies of Social Phenomenon
Human Behavior
the B.I.S. Design Strategy Curriculum. Design Movements
Meaning and Value Creation
Cultural Diversity
Design Thinking
Ecological Literacy

16. Industry Insight

17. Core Competencies
Methods:
Trend Forecasting
Product Development
Interdisciplinary Problem Solving
User-Centered Research
Critical Analysis
Design Process
Skills:
Collaboration
Creativity
Professionalism
Leadership
Teamwork
Presentation
Communication
Verbal
Written
Visual
Knowledge:
Social Phenomenon
Human Behavior
Design Movements
Meaning and Value Creation
Cultural Diversity
Design Thinking
Ecological Literacy

18. Design Thinking for Innovation

19. Core Competencies
Methods:
Trend Forecasting
Product Development
Interdisciplinary Problem Solving
User-Centered Research
Critical Analysis
Design Process
Skills:
Collaboration
Creativity
Professionalism
Leadership
Teamwork
Presentation
Communication
Verbal
Written
Visual
Knowledge:
Social Phenomenon
Human Behavior
Design Movements
Meaning and Value Creation
Cultural Diversity
Design Thinking
Ecological Literacy

20. Business Strategy

21. Core Competencies
Methods:
Trend Forecasting
Product Development
Interdisciplinary Problem Solving
User-Centered Research
Critical Analysis
Design Process
Skills:
Collaboration
Creativity
Professionalism
Leadership
Teamwork
Presentation
Communication
Verbal
Written
Visual
Knowledge:
Social Phenomenon
Human Behavior
Design Movements
Meaning and Value Creation
Cultural Diversity
Design Thinking
Ecological Literacy

22. User-Centered Research

23. Core Competencies
Methods:
Trend Forecasting
Product Development
Interdisciplinary Problem Solving
User-Centered Research
Critical Analysis
Design Process
Skills:
Collaboration
Creativity
Professionalism
Leadership
Teamwork
Presentation
Communication
Verbal
Written
Visual
Knowledge:
Social Phenomenon
Human Behavior
Design Movements
Meaning and Value Creation
Cultural Diversity
Design Thinking
Ecological Literacy

24. Communication

25. Core Competencies
Methods:
Trend Forecasting
Product Development
Interdisciplinary Problem Solving
User-Centered Research
Critical Analysis
Design Process
Skills:
Collaboration
Creativity
Professionalism
Leadership
Teamwork
Presentation
Communication
Verbal
Written
Visual
Knowledge:
Social Phenomenon
Human Behavior
Design Movements
Meaning and Value Creation
Cultural Diversity
Design Thinking
Ecological Literacy

26. Liberal Arts Foundation

27. Core Competencies
Methods:
Trend Forecasting
Product Development
Interdisciplinary Problem Solving
User-Centered Research
Critical Analysis
Design Process
Skills:
Collaboration
Creativity
Professionalism
Leadership
Teamwork
Presentation
Communication
Verbal
Written
Visual
Knowledge:
Social Phenomenon
Human Behavior
Design Movements
Meaning and Value Creation
Cultural Diversity
Design Thinking
Ecological Literacy

28. Requirement Check
The curriculum proposed represents
the minimum neccesary credits
in order to graduate. In reality, it is
projected that all these numbers
will be higher upon graduation as
honors seminars and other classes of
interest are made available. Credits
counting towards the 63 hours after
proposal are counted as of autum
2010 when I began following my
proposed curriculum. These include
classes coded as O’s and I’s. Please
refer to the key for understanding
the codes.

29. “
Discoveries are often
made by not following
instructions, by going off
the main road, by trying
the untried.”
-Frank Tyger

30. Thank you.