ESAD (Escola Superior de Artes e Design Matosinhos), founded in 1989, is an Art and Design school localised in the district of Porto. One of the objectives of the school is to educate the students for the importance of the role that design and arts play in the innovation and development of society. In order to prepare their contribution to this, the education of the principles of design thinking are deeply embedded in the curriculum of the courses of the school. ESAD’s approach to design thinking includes ‘thinking of designs’ (visualizing and imaging new realities), ‘thinking about design’ (reflecting) and ‘thinking through design’ (understanding the evolution of society), all three together contributing for the education of a design thinker. With the emergence of the new concept of Design Thinking (now used as a innovation method and written in upper case), ESAD is working on several programmes to apply the insights of DT to other fields, such as engineering, management and secondary education. Katja Tschimmel, lecturer at ESAD, with her research focus on Creative Thinking in Design and Design Methodology, showed at the d.confestival at the Hasso-Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany, how Design Thinking is stimulated at ESAD, and outside the school, through workshops, events, post-graduation courses and specific disciplines.

1. TEACHING
DESIGN THINKING AT ESAD
EXPERIENCES FROM PORTUGAL
Katja Tschimmel
ESAD – Escola Superior de Artes e Design, Matosinhos/Porto Portugal

2. ESAD
founded in 1989, private institute which has established itself as a reference in
top-quality teaching, research and related activities in the field of art and design.
1000 STUDENTS

3. 6 degree level
courses
4 master courses
and several
post-graduations
courses and labs
graduation / master
communication
graduation / master
product
graduation / master
interior
graduation
jewellery
graduation
digital arts and multimedia
graduation / master
fashion

4. thinking
of
designs
PROCESS
imaging and
visualising
new realities
thinking
about
design
PRODUCT
reflecting
thinking
through
design
CONTEXT
understanding
the evolution
of society
education
of a
design
thinker
PERSON
competent in thinking of,
about and through design
ESAD’s
approach to design thinking includes

5. thinking
of
designs
PROCESS
imaging and
visualising
new realities
thinking
about
design
PRODUCT
reflecting
thinking
through
design
CONTEXT
understanding
the evolution
of society
education
of a
design
thinker
PERSON
competent in thinking of,
about and through design
ESAD’s
approach to design thinking includes
teaching
Design Thinking
as an
innovation
method

6. ESAD
EVENTS Underware Typography Workshop
thinking
of
designs
PROCESS
imaging and
visualising
new realities

7. ESAD
EVENTS Viewport Winebar Workshop with Rintala e Eggertsson, Mestriner e Spadoni 2012
thinking
of
designs
PROCESS
imaging and
visualising
new realities

8. thinking
about
design
PRODUCT
reflecting
ESAD
EVENTS wide programme of seminars, conferences and exhibitions
Lecture Neville Brody

9. ESAD
PUBLICATIONS PLI Arte & Design, quarterly magazine published by ESAD 2012
thinking
about
design
PROCESS
reflecting
and writing

10. ESAD
PROJECTS MATOSINHOS MAR, Requalification of Waterfront 2010
CONTEXT
understanding
the evolution
of society
thinking
through
design

11. thinking
through design
ESAD
PROJECTS MATOSINHOS MAR, Requalification of Waterfront 2010
CONTEXT
understanding
the evolution
of society
thinking
through
design

12. teaching
Design Thinking
as an
innovation method
Strategies
UC Design Methodology in the 2nd year of all degree courses.
UC Design Thinking in the Post-graduation courses Web Design and Motion Design.
Teaching Design Thinking in Engineering, Management and Secondary Education.
Creation of a Post-graduation course in Design Thinking for non-designers
(work in process)
Creation of a Design District in Matosinhos (work in process)
teaching
Design Thinking
as an
innovation
method

13. Design Thinking Model
E.volution 42
Empathy
Experimentation
Elaboration
Exhibit
PRESENT IN ALL PHASES:
Exploration
Enter


 © ESAD | NA’MENTE

14. Design Thinking Model
E.volution 42
Empathy
Experimentation
ElaborationPRESENT IN ALL PHASES:
Exploration
Enter


 © ESAD | NA’MENTE
visual research
ethnography
self documentation
interviews
role play
personas
empathy map
conceptual map
storytelling
moodboard
touchpoint diagram
visual sinectics
illustrating
sketching
morphological box
brainwriting
brainstorming
analogies
affinity map
mind mapdrawing
customer journey map
rapid prototyping
storyboard
tests
photography
elevator pitch
presentation board Exhibit

15. Design District
in Matosinhos
thinking
of
designs
thinking
about
design
thinking
through
design
space for
researching,
applying
and teaching
Design Thinking

16. ESAD
PROJECTS ASSOCIATION QUADRA, space for encouraging Design Thinking as a dynamic
hub of Creative Industries 2012
space for
thinking
of designs
result of
thinking
through
design

17. ESAD
EVENTS Gallery Quadra – David Carson Communication 2011
space of
thinking
about
design

18. ESAD
PROJECTS QUADRA Brito Capelo 2011
result of
thinking
through
design
SPACE for
researching,
applying
and teaching
DESIGN THINKING

19. Montreal
Rio de Janeiro
Belo Horizonte
ESAD
Cologne
Brussels
Liege
Hasselt
EindhovenAntwerp
Glasgow
Alicante
Murcia Orihuela
Valencia
Alcoy
Asturias
Barcelona
Castellon
Ciudad Real
Tommelloso
Madrid
Segovia
Zamora
La Rioja
Burgos
Soria
Idar-Oberstein
Lorient
Amiens
Dublin
Paris
Nantes
Graz
Ljubljana
Milan Brescia
Zurich
Urbino
Naples
Malta
Athens
Mytilini
Tel Aviv
Ioannina
Budapest
Iasi
Ankara
AdanaAntalya
Burdur
Izmir
Eskisehir
Istambul
Lodz
Warsaw
Katowice
Gdansk
Banská Bystrica Krakow
Tallinn
Riga
Siauliai
Vilnius
Saint Petersburg
Vantaa
International
Mobility
GERMANY, AUSTRIA,
BELGIUM, SCOTLAND,
SLOVAKIA, SLOVENIA,
ESTONIA, SPAIN,
FINLAND, FRANCE,
GREECE, HOLLAND,
HUNGARY, IRELAND,
ISRAEL, ITALY, LATVIA,
LITHUANIA, MALTA,
POLAND, ROMANIA,
SWITZERLAND, TURKEY,
BRASIL, CANADA,
RUSSIA.
We are waiting for you in
ESAD Matosinhos!
thank you!
katjatschimmel@esad.pt
www.esad.pt