Interdisciplinary thinking lies at the heart of Culture and Design Management. This course introduces fundamental perspectives, concepts, and methods across culture, design, management, UX, technology, art, branding, and marketing. Through lectures, case discussions, and interdisciplinary projects, students will learn to connect these domains and develop thoughtful strategies for real-world opportunities.
Week 9: Industry Project Launch · Guest Speaker: Studio Mikko Laakkonen · Three Ways of Design Thinking
Opening Questions
How do user-centered, customer-centered, and strategy-centered thinking reveal different aspects of the same challenge?
What makes Studio Mikko Laakkonen (Nordic design) distinctive as a furniture company and design practice?
Learning Goal
Understand how user-centered, customer-centered, and strategy-centered thinking reveal different aspects of an industry challenge. Establish project teams and prepare initial company, market, and research questions.
Lecture Materials
Studio Mikko Laakkonen guest presentation
Three Ways of Design Thinking slides
Industry-project brief
Unlocks when Week 8 class ends
Oct. 20, 1:00 PM (KST)
In-class Activity
In-class Lecture:
Industry Project Launch: Project 3 process, outputs, evaluation, and collaboration expectations.
Guest Speaker · Studio Mikko Laakkonen: Company, product portfolio, design philosophy, current market, and expectations for the Korean-market project.
Three Ways of Design Thinking: Overview of user-centered, customer-centered, and strategy-centered perspectives.
In-class Activity:
Form Project 3 teams.
Record key company information, questions, and assumptions emerging from the guest presentation.
Discuss how the Korean-market challenge may be viewed differently through the three design-thinking perspectives.
In-class Submission:
Complete the team-formation and initial project-question notes during class. No separate graded submission is required.
Unlocks when Week 8 class ends
Oct. 20, 1:00 PM (KST)
Homework
HomeworkFind one existing poster with poor readability. Identify which graphic design choices make the poster difficult to read, then redesign it with the specific goal of improving readability. The goal is not simply to make the poster look more attractive, but to make its information easier to notice, read, and understand.View Homework 3 →Due2026.09.29, 11:59PM
PrepFC Lectures
Watch FC Lecture before Week 10.
DueNov. 3, before class
Key Takeaways
The project should begin with an accurate understanding of the company rather than an immediate solution.
Users, customers, and companies represent different but connected perspectives.
A promising Korean-market proposal must connect human needs, customer value, and company strategy.
Desk research provides reference points, while later user research is needed to understand Korean users and customers directly.
Available after class
Unlocks Oct. 27, 1:00 PM (KST), when this class ends.