Probably my favorite lecture I've given, my introduction to design research methods takes an emotionally intelligent, practical, and friendly approach to exposing first-year design students to bringing ethnography into the design process. It combines personal anecdotes of my own successes (and many missteps) in conducting design research and three core principles: exercising empathy, focusing on actionable insights, and embracing complexity. The 3 part video series, initially recorded in the remote-learning environment of the COVID-19 pandemic is now used across the Design Thinking and Communication curriculum to this day.

I also loved facilitating brainstorming sessions among my students, and wanted to help them carry brainstorming techniques with them in their academic and professional careers. Given my passion for doodling on sticky notes, I saw no other way to communicate this process. By emphasizing the open-minded, intentionally scrappy nature of brainstorming, I helped my students conquer some of their perfectionist tendencies, embrace the process, and hopefully have a little fun doing it.

While the entire process is quite fun for me, I have no more fun than when I get the chance to make. I constructed two lectures that guided students through the purpose and technique of low-fidelity prototyping and introduced them to the process of 3D printing.