Year 4 // Professional Practice Project

DES 420 + DES 421: Professional Practice Project
Fall 2024/Spring 2025

All students will register on a first-come, first-served basis. Courses offer real-world professional experience, are open to seniors, and meet for an extended period of one day per week. Courses involve collaborative teamwork and are often supported by a sponsoring industry partner.

Please check your degree prerequisites before registering for the fall course sequence.


Course Selectives:

The following two-semester options require fall (420) and spring (421) registration with the same instructor to complete the graduation requirement.

DES 420 Interdisciplinary (Solution) Design (IXD) - Tuesdays from 1–6:40 PM
Instructor: Noah Wangerin
Client: OSF Healthcare
Location: Innovation Center

Work on a cross-disciplinary collaborative team with design, engineering, and business faculty and students to develop concepts and pitch them to a UIC Innovation Center corporate partner. Conduct research, define problems, pursue impactful solutions, practice storytelling, and gain real-world professional experience. Projects focus on complex issues within industries such as Healthcare, higher education, technology, mobility, and medicine. Students will learn the value of crafting a compelling story to convey their final concept.

DES 420 Mobile App Design (MAD) - Mondays from 1–6:40 PM
Instructor: Daria Tsoupikova
Client: TBD
Location: Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL)

The Mobile Web Design and Development course provides a solid mobile design and development foundation focusing on user-centered design, and client-side research components. Students will work in teams in the year-long (Fall & Spring)research + design + development process of developing a new mobile app defined by a professional client. Students explore the current standards and best practices of mobile design and user experience (UX). Throughout the course, students work with Adobe CS, Xcode, Swift,
Github, Google Drive and other software and online tools. The course utilizes a hands-on approach to guide students through learning and understanding the mobile design and development process. This course is primarily designed for students with minimal technical experience. By the end of the course, students will be able to plan, design, and implement a front-end functioning mobile app.

The following one-semester options only require fall (420) registration, with the opportunity to choose a new course/intructor for spring (421) registration.

DES 420 Interdisciplinary (Solution) Design (IXD) - Mondays from 1–6:40 PM
Instructor: Sung Jang
Client: LG
Location: Innovation Center

Work on a cross-disciplinary collaborative team with design, engineering, and business faculty and students to develop concepts and pitch them to a UIC Innovation Center corporate partner. Conduct research, define problems, pursue impactful solutions, practice storytelling, and gain real-world professional experience. Projects focus on complex issues within industries such as Healthcare, higher education, technology, mobility, and medicine. Students will learn the value of crafting a compelling story to convey their final concept.

DES 420 Collaborative Spatial Design (CSD) - Thursdays from 1–6:40 PM
Instructor: TBD
Client: Innovation Center
Location: Innovation Center

Join a collaborative team of design students to research and develop spatial concepts for the UIC Innovation Center's expansion project. Gain hands-on experience in problem-solving, storytelling, and real-world professional engagement within highly collaborative laboratory environments. By the end of the course, students will master the art of crafting compelling narratives to communicate innovative spatial solutions effectively.

DES 420 Mobile App Design (MAD) - Wednesdays from 1–6:40 PM
Instructor: Daria Tsoupikova
Client: TBD
Location: Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL)

The Mobile Web Design and Development course provides a solid mobile design and development foundation focusing on user-centered design, and client-side research components. Students will work in teams in the semester-long (Fall only)research + design + development process of developing a new mobile app defined by a professional client. Students explore the current standards and best practices of mobile design and user experience (UX). Throughout the course, students work with Adobe CS, Xcode, Swift,
Github, Google Drive and other software and online tools. The course utilizes a hands-on approach to guide students through learning and understanding the mobile design and development process. This course is primarily designed for students with minimal technical experience. By the end of the course, students will be able to plan, design, and implement a front-end functioning mobile app.