Intro HCD— A Student Perspective on Human-Centered Design

Human-Centered Design is one of the core classes offered at the Hive. It is a multi-disciplinary approach to impactful problem solving that centers deep understanding of people’s needs in order to propel new innovation. In our liberal arts context, we draw from fields such as Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, Behavioral Economics, Art, Improvisational Theater, and Engineering, to foster students’ ability to empathize, define specific human needs, generate a high volume of ideas, create prototypes, and test the prototypes to learn more about what solutions actually meet those needs.

One of our students, Vidusshi Hingad, analyzed the Hive’s Intro HCD course for her educational pedagogy class last fall. Read her piece below to learn more about what we do at the Hive from a first-hand student perspective.

Human-Centered Design (Fall 2024)

Brief Description:
Professors Shannon Randolph and Fred Leichter taught this course at the Hive. It focused on the human-centered design process, emphasizing the stages of “empathy,” “define,” “ideate,” “prototype,” “test,” and “reflect.” The class celebrated innovation and encouraged students to explore design solutions through iterative experimentation, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.

What I Loved:
This was one of the most innovative classes I’ve ever taken. The design process and the course’s unique structure (every class had a different seating arrangement, too) made every session exciting and engaging. We were encouraged to document our successes, failures, and learnings through group projects, which instilled a growth mindset. I particularly loved the “stokes” — energetic activities that introduced our “big learning of the class” in a fun way, setting the tone for dynamic discussions and creativity.

The focus on rapport-building activities, like the quadrant and around-the-table exercises, created a sense of camaraderie and trust within the class. Additionally, the grading metrics of “risk-taking” and “ambition” over traditional measures of success pushed us to think boldly and embrace challenges without fear of failure. The visual note-taking requirement, which used our notebooks, added an artistic and reflective element that made learning tactile and imaginative. It was like primary school again, only better and bigger. I engaged in my inner child and my life-long learning adult self simultaneously.

What I Was Most Proud Of:
I am most proud of my ability to embrace risk-taking and honestly document the iterative design process. Working in groups required constant collaboration, adaptability, and openness to feedback, and I took pride in pushing my ideas forward while valuing my teammates’ contributions. The focus on documenting failures helped me shift my mindset from fearing mistakes to seeing them as opportunities for learning and growth.

Educational Pedagogy:
The Human-Centered Design course excelled at combining Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), design thinking, and growth mindset theory to create a transformative educational experience. SEL principles were at the core of the course, fostering emotional intelligence, collaboration, and self-awareness. Rapport-building activities, such as the quadrant exercise and affirmations, created a classroom environment of trust and safety, essential for creative risk-taking. These exercises taught students how to navigate interpersonal dynamics effectively, showing that emotional connections are critical to innovation and teamwork.

The course’s structure also embraced the design thinking framework, emphasizing stages like empathy, ideation, prototyping, and reflection. By encouraging students to immerse themselves in the user’s perspective and iterate solutions through testing, the course cultivated human-centered problem-solving skills. This methodology grounded learning in real-world applications and highlighted the value of adaptability and iterative progress.

Aligned with growth mindset theory, the grading system prioritized “risk-taking” and “ambition” over traditional success metrics. This approach encouraged students to embrace challenges, experiment freely, and learn from failures without fear of judgment. By shifting the focus from outcomes to effort and resilience, the course redefined success as a journey of exploration and development, fostering a mindset essential for lifelong learning and innovation. These pedagogical elements created an environment where students could thrive emotionally, intellectually, and creatively.