A 32-lesson studio course · students & practising designers
Design Thinking in Architecture & Interior Design
Futuristic by behaviour, not by chrome.
A 32-lesson studio course that replaces the lone-genius myth with a process you can run: empathise with the inhabitant, define the real problem, ideate spatial options, prototype to make ideas testable, and test to close the loop — grounded in Indian homes, bodies and culture.
Written for architecture and interior-design students and for practising designers sharpening the method — every lesson carries a “go deeper, for practitioners” track.
Take it with you
The syllabus
Seven modules — orientation, the five-mode loop, and a full capstone.
Orientation
Why process beats inspiration — the myth of the eureka architect, the vocabulary, the history, and the five-mode loop reframed for space.
- 0.1The myth of the eureka architectWhy process beats inspiration
- 0.2Three words people mix upDesign thinking vs the design process vs design methods
- 0.3Where this came fromBauhaus to Simon to IDEO, and the vernacular that did it first
- 0.4The five-mode loop, reframed for spaceAnd why it's a loop, not a line
Empathise — reading the inhabitant
Empathise — read the inhabitant beneath the brief: the five whys, day-in-the-life maps, spatial and cultural empathy, and the persona.
- 1.1The brief is a lieWhat clients say vs what they actually need
- 1.2Getting below the waterlineShadowing, the day-in-the-life map, and contextual interviews
- 1.3Spatial empathyErgonomics, anthropometrics, and the Indian body
- 1.4Cultural empathyPooja orientation, joint-family hierarchy, gendered kitchen logic, and zones
- 1.5Building the persona and the empathy mapTurning a pile of notes into something you can design from
Define — framing the right problem
Define — frame the right problem: the point-of-view statement, How Might We, constraints as fuel, and the rewritten brief.
- 2.1The Point-of-View statementTurning a deeply understood person into one sharp, solvable problem
- 2.2How Might WeTurning problems into open doors
- 2.3Constraints as creative fuelWhy limits make design possible, not impossible
- 2.4The design brief, rewrittenFrom a client's wish-list to a designer's working document
Ideate — generating spatial options
Ideate — generate spatial options: divergence first, bubble diagrams and parti, analogical thinking, sketch-thinking, and selecting.
- 3.1Divergence before convergenceWhy your first idea is a trap
- 3.2Ideation methodsBubble diagrams, zoning, parti sketches, and SCAMPER for space
- 3.3Analogical thinkingBorrowing from boats, beehives, and stepwells
- 3.4Sketch-thinkingThe hand as a thinking tool
- 3.5Selecting and combiningDot-voting and the desirability–feasibility–viability triangle
Prototype — making the idea testable
Prototype — make the idea testable: the fidelity ladder, foam massing, digital models, role-play and the 1:1 mock-up.
- 4.1The fidelity ladderFrom napkin sketch to walkthrough — and why you climb slowly
- 4.2Physical prototypingFoam-board massing and paper floor plans at 1:50
- 4.3Digital prototypingSoftware massing, and AI concept generation as rapid prototyping
- 4.4Material and light prototypingSample boards, mockup corners, and daylight studies
- 4.5Cost as a prototype variableGood, better, best — and the budget logic that lets a client choose
Test & Iterate — closing the loop
Test and iterate — close the loop: walkthroughs, reading feedback, the redesign, and knowing when to stop.
- 5.1Walkthrough testingMoving an inhabitant through a space that doesn't exist yet
- 5.2Feedback that's useful vs feedback that's noiseHearing the signal in what people say about your design
- 5.3Stress-testing for Indian realityMonsoon, dust, power cuts, ageing knees, and resale
- 5.4Iteration disciplineVersioning, and knowing what to change and what to hold
- 5.5When to stop'Good enough' and the cost of over-design
Capstone — a full design-thinking project
Capstone — run a full design-thinking project end to end, from a real brief to a tested, defended proposal.