Consumer product design

The paper describes a new course titled "Consumer Product Design" whose primary emphasis is on innovation. The course is aimed at instilling sharp observation skills and creative thinking in students. The course structure blends theory and practice in the form of a series of design challenges. The lectures dwell into the product design methodology and case studies. The studio work primarily involves the design challenge. The paper describes the motivation for the course, its objectives and the design approach. The design approach consists of three distinct stages-Understand market and/or the current products, Synthesize effective designs and model the product designs. The paper describes activities in each of these stages with a design case study. The course ties human psychology, business issues and ethics into the course. It enables them to appreciate good design and also, create new innovative products.