Design Abilities

At the d.school we equip our students in eight core design abilities so that they might develop their own creative confidence and also inspire others, take risks, and persevere through tough projects at Stanford and beyond.

Lets stop talking about THE design process

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2018 is the year of the Intangibles

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We believe in experiential learning

All of our learning experiences practice a model of learn-by-doing and we routinely experiment and innovate on what a course looks like. At the d.school, we tackle real challenges and many of courses are held in situ in the context that is appropriate for the specific learning experience.

Students will practice eight core design abilities throughout their projects, using a wide range of tools, methods, mindsets, behaviors, artifacts, and more.


For Stanford Students

Our project-based and experiential classes bring together students from all seven schools at Stanford.

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We iterate our pedagogy

We believe in advancing the discipline of design, constantly infusing our community with expertise from beyond our walls. There’s no one way to “do design.” And there are many forms in which we teach it.

Every d.school class is team taught by instructors with different interests and areas of expertise collaborate to . The interdisciplinary team represents a broader range of experience and skill in the design abilities and their application that students can learn from and practice during their experiential courses.

Every year, our instructors come together and share their latest methods and artifacts. We strive to make some of these available to you to try, mash up, and make better.

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