Learning and experiencing design can come in many flavors, and this series aims to give the design community a glimpse into what our grad students experience during their time at the d.school and then beyond.
We'll showcase some of their coursework and projects like the Design Master’s Capstone, which is the culmination of all the work they've done as a grad student.
We'll also offer the chance to view student portfolios, connect with the students professionally via LinkedIn, and share any student-launched product, service, or business web pages.
First up, meet Saad Riaz.
What brought you to the d.school?
I started working at a young age and often prioritized work over school. In fact, growing up I didn’t really like school and never understood what the point of school was. I felt like I was learning more outside of class by going to work with my dad. During my first few jobs post-college, I realized most of what I was learning in class didn’t really apply to work, and being successful in my career didn’t have anything to do with college. This made me question the purpose of education. I became curious about alternative paths people could take to learn, grow, and fulfill their potential outside of going to traditional schools and universities. I imagined rethinking the human experience around how we live, learn, and work.
Specifically, I imagined designing a design school where people can learn by bringing their lived experiences into a studio to solve real-world challenges they are facing. I wanted to understand what the most pressing challenges people around the world are facing and what design could do to help. What if we redesigned education to serve the people that our current academic systems are failing to serve?
I wanted to take a step back and try to understand how we can design a world that improves our lives and the human condition. How the products, services, and systems around us are designed is influencing us and our condition. I believe to my core that if more people spoke and understood the language of design, together we could redesign the world around us and leave our world better than we have found it.
How would you describe your experience in the d.school’s Master’s in Design degree program?
Magical. It’s like a Disney World for creative nerds. There isn’t a one-size fits all curriculum here, rather everyone chooses their own adventure based on their curiosity. Everyone is so unique, interesting and ambitious in their own right — the people around you are constantly expanding your perspective and embracing the values of the d.school in order to think differently. There is a noticeable and profound attention to who we design for, why we design, and how we approach our work with ethical and respectful frameworks rather than disrupting and causing harm to the world around us.
What is particularly refreshing about our program is its open nature. Prior to coming here, I always felt like the world tries to put us in categories and buckets or a trajectory to fit into a mold that the world has defined for us. Here we are, able to define our own trajectory and embrace being a misfit. I took courses at the School of Engineering, the Law School, the Graduate School of Business, and the Graduate School of Education while being rooted at the d.school. It really is profound being shaped by so many disciplines.
I remember the first time I went to my advisor, Carissa Carter, wondering if it was okay for me to register for a law course and philosophy course assuming it may not be possible. I even had a whole explanation planned, but before I had a chance to explain, she said, “wow that sounds like a really interesting combination, go for it.” Often, I’d be the only design student in a law or business course and it really made me wonder if other design schools enable designers to take such interdisciplinary paths. Being in our design program feels like you have been accepted to all seven schools at Stanford.
I understand that the responsibilities designers will have in our world moving forward will only increase in importance and complexity. That being said, there is a careful balance in being intentional in how we design for the world around us and for humans to understand that we are imperfect. David Kelley, in particular, is constantly talking about failing, trying new things, exploring, and recognizing that embracing failure is one of the strongest tools in a designer’s toolkit. This careful balance between developing a vision for the future while maintaining respect for the world around us is so impactful, particularly as we learn how to slow down in a world that is moving so fast.
The reason I love the d.school and value my time here so much is it is a place for rebels and misfits. It feels magical going to school in a place where you both grow up and develop while becoming more childlike at the same time.
What is design, or what does design mean to you?
I believe design is the most powerful tool we have to better understand one another, interject where there is need, and solve for those who need it most.
What was your favorite course during your time at Stanford, and why was it your favorite?
There were so many incredible courses, it’s hard to pick one. I’d say “Philosophy of Education” with Dr. Geoff Cox and “Global Poverty Law & Economics” with Dr. Erik Jensen and Dr. Dinsha Mistree changed the way I see and understand the world so significantly. I didn’t know designers could take law school courses, but the instructors were so supportive and welcoming. Particularly, they taught me how to look at the global ecosystem of law, policy, and economics to identify where a designer could interject within these complex systems to a.) better understand our world and b.) to improve it. It was also just a unique experience being the only design student among law students — I learned so much by being a complete beginner.
“Philosophy of Education” challenged every way of thinking I had — simple questions such as “what is education?” or “what is the aim of education?” were so difficult to answer and we as a class realized no one agreed on any definition, yet we all shared a sensibility that education plays such a strong role in shaping us as humans. It made me wonder, who designed education?
I also really enjoyed our Master’s Capstone course. It was open-ended and there wasn’t a syllabus. I was able to explore and research anything that I wanted to and I really appreciated the trust and respect of the instructors treating us like adults and allowing us to drive. Life and work get so busy, capstone felt like a gift of time for coming back to school and working on ideas I always dreamt of bringing to life.
What did you work on or explore for your Master’s Capstone?
I built DFSG, a design school x design studio, tailored towards supporting adult learners in reaching their full potential. Specifically, I was interested in the fracture points in our current education system that prevent adult learners from attending school. There was a focus towards removing the high opportunity cost adults face when having to leave work to attend school. I wanted to open-source design education to the world with a focus on lifelong learning rather than learning ending when our public systems say they are supposed to end.
In my own research and work building a design school, I learned that the future of design and design education must be shaped by the world — especially underserved communities where power imbalances have such strong influences. I think the best thing design can do moving forward is listen to the world, open itself up to people and perspectives that have been on the receiving end of products and services and empower them to become the designers and creators of the ideas they care about most. This is why I think design education, specifically a more democratic design education, can be so powerful.
Our world is becoming increasingly polarizing and I genuinely believe designers will play an important role in bringing harmony into our world as design as a discipline has a deeply rooted sense of care for our world and understanding the people in it. In a way, I am simply trying to create more understanding in our world through design.
These values and principles are the foundations of DFSG where people all over the world work and learn together. It has been a privilege of a lifetime designing a design school while being in design school. We have been able to pilot and scale the program in multiple countries reaching hundreds of learners globally. It’s fascinating working with a global community and learning from one another. We held a design review recently, hosting experts and learners from 10+ countries — it was genuinely humbling and remarkable watching ideas spark and experiencing how much people around the world care for each other.
Our model enables learners to learn by working on real world challenges with industry experts that teach students while working to solve the challenges at hand. We aim to reach people around the world who are looking to reskill and upskill but feel the traditional models for learning are not for them. The goal is to democratize access to a creative education to support people in reaching their full potential.
Bringing learners from across the world together, we have been able to create a culture that challenges the way things are and makes the invisible fracture points in our world visible. I understand that DFSG will play a significant role in shaping designers who will shape our world and this drives me to create more opportunities for people to learn design and work on ideas that are meaningful to them.
What’s next for you?
My vision for building a design school and design studio was brought to life at the d.school. I have graduated with the utmost respect and care for the learning experience and the faculty who helped bring my ideas to life, being here really is like being nowhere else on earth. I hope I can help everyone in the world feel what I felt during my time here — this feeling inspires me to continue building DFSG post-graduation.
It brings me so much joy to share that I have joined the d.school as a Core Lecturer within the Undergraduate Design Program where I will be working on supporting students in bringing their ideas to life. The d.school feels like home to me and I am so grateful to become part of our team and faculty to help shape the future of design.
Stay tuned as we feature more of our recent MS Design graduates in the coming months! To learn more about the Stanford Design program, visit: https://designprogram.stanford.edu/
