d.ONE engages and prepares students for exciting futures in all design fields within the College of Architecture.

Our Courses

Students sitting side by side working on projects from overhead

Design Thinking

Design Thinking at UNL develops creative problem solving abilities in students. Intended for students with little or no design experience, this course introduces central issues and approaches to design as an interdisciplinary process.

With an emphasis on creative thinking methods and building creative confidence, students address relevant and real-world challenges through design in an energetic, problem-based learning environment.

Large group of students sitting around table working on projects

Design Making

The Design Making course builds upon the skills acquired in Design Thinking turning the focus to making within the design process as a means to developing an idea. An appreciation for craft will be instilled as a core value and seen as a means to assessing clarity and viability of the idea.

Projects will also integrate explicit use of the elements and principles of design as a formal vocabulary. Students are introduced to multiple techniques of communicating ideas through physical and digital modeling, orthographic projection, freehand drawing, and other forms of graphic representation.

The Common First Year: d.ONE

The Common First Year curriculum introduces students to design through courses in three areas: Technique, Design Discipline, and Design Practice. In addition, students take University courses in Math, English, Communications, and a general education elective.

dThink and dMake are sequential hands-on courses where students learn to work in teams to address problems and promote innovation. At the same time, they learn foundational skills in composition, craft, presentation, and idea generation necessary for all design fields.

At the end of the Common First Year, students have gained an understanding of the broad range of design and are eligible to apply for any of the design programs in the College - Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Interior Design, and Industrial Design (pending program approval).