Learn the skills needed to take climate action no matter where you work
What’s this Climate Designers class all about?
Play fullscreen to see all the 🎉🤗🕺💃🤘
Work on something that goes beyond the classroom
Our semester long project is part of a larger global initiative that will drastically accelerate climate solutions at the industry level.
Scroll down👇 to see previous class projects
What if we view our climate emergency as an opportunity to embrace this crisis as a moment to wake up, re-evaluate our existence, re-imagine how we live with each other and we love one another?
Imagine the new products and services, new technologies, new jobs, new economies, new systems we will create over the next few decades. This is where Climate Designers come in.
Students will develop a world view that encourages them to take a stand towards incorporating responsible, sustainable, regenerative, and appropriate design decisions and frameworks for any project they work on or within any company they work for.
CLASS OBJECTIVES
+ To build understanding, awareness, and the vocabulary around climate change
+ To build experience in developing sustainable or regenerative product and service solutions
+ To build research, collaboration, presentation, design, rapid prototyping, and critical thinking skills
LEARNING OUTCOMES
+ Knowledge of climate science and its impact on our natural systems
+ Learning current climate approaches and solutions
+ Introduction into systems thinking
+ Awareness of sustainable materials and regenerative processes
+ Understand relevant business strategies
+ Intra/interpersonal skills and competencies
+ Learning various creative problem solving methodologies
+ Learning proper user testing skills through the Prototype Thinking process
+ Utilize appropriate methodologies towards research questions
+ Development of understanding people through empathy
+ Building collaborative skills by working in groups
What students are saying
“The Climate Designers class is one of the most insightful classes I have ever taken. Not only did I gain an in-depth perspective on how design across all sectors currently impacts climate change, but the strategies Marc taught in this class helped me to completely elevate my work. I now have a much better understanding of how to make my designs stand out from my competitors and create sustainable solutions that ensure the most impact.”
Olive Brown,
Interaction Design, BFA
“Climate Designers is an incredibly meaningful course that has transformed my perspective. It has empowered me to tackle the climate crisis with a positive mindset and embrace the transformative power of designers. Under Marc's engaging guidance, I absorbed a wealth of knowledge, and the vibrant classroom atmosphere inspired boundless creativity. This is no doubt one of my favorite classes at CCA. I hope that more design schools offer similar courses, cultivating sustainable mindsets in talented individuals and bringing more people into making meaningful contributions to the climate crisis.”
Emily Tsai
Interaction Design, MDes
“After becoming a Climate Designer through this class, I've come to believe that it should be required. While the Climate Crisis is a daunting problem, this class helped me to approach the problem with a positive attitude and in actionable ways. As a designer and an already eco-conscious person before this class, I was pleasantly surprised by how powerful design can be in taking climate action.”
Natalia Girling,
Interaction Design, BFA
“Thanks to Marc's Climate Designers class, I have been able to gain numerous insights into past and current events, allowing me to deeply contemplate holistic approaches to solving the prevalent problems occurring within a broader perspective. I take great pride in stating that I have developed myself as an individual who can consistently disseminate my knowledge to change the world.”
Yuri Yasukawa,
Interaction Design, MDes
Select student work from Spring 2023
“How might we promote existing climate approaches and solutions so that they become widespread and adopted?”
Select student work from Fall 2022
“How might we promote existing climate approaches and solutions so that they become widespread and adopted?”
Select student work from Spring 2022
“How might we promote existing climate approaches and solutions so that they become widespread and adopted?”
Select student work from Fall 2021
“How might we promote existing climate approaches and solutions so that they become widespread and adopted?”
Select student work from Fall 2020
Create a product or service that encourages people to elevate climate as the most important issue society talks about
Select student work from Spring 2020
Create a product or service that makes taking climate action easy and approachable
If you’re a student interested in taking climate action,
sign up for the Climate Designers class at CCA.
And while you’re here, check out the rest of the Climate Designers initiative.
Have a question about the class? Email Marc O’Brien at mobrien2@cca.edu.
Learn more about Marc.