What does the act of design mean? This course introduces the concepts of design thinking in various fields, through several faculty and invited lecturers. We will focus on how design influences culture, from industrial design to furniture design, graphic design to architectural design. The course studies the work of select architects, to see how they each approach the act of design, especially studying conceptual thinking and architectural drawings. Discussion focuses upon design as a central activity of the architect and designer. Exercises include the study of parti, as well as 2D and 3D composition, to develop critical thinking skills parallel to graphic skills.