http://www.scad.edu/news/2009/new-majors.cfm

Published: September 2, 2009

SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Savannah College of Art and Design announces two exciting new majors at the Industrial Designers Society of America's national conference, Sept. 23-26, Booths 3 and 4, Loews Hotel, 1601 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139.

Design for sustainability (M.A.) and service design (B.F.A., M.F.A.), the first degree program of its kind to be offered in the United States, are just two of the diverse offerings in undergraduate and graduate studies in SCAD's School of Design.

"The U.S. is primarily a service-based economy that requires a new type of design graduate who understands technology, business thinking and consumer needs, paired with design thinking," says Tom Gattis, chair of the SCAD industrial design department. "SCAD is the first to graduate students who can impact a wide variety of business sectors with new tools and approaches to solving very complex problems."

Service design is the application of range of established and new design processes, methods and skill-sets in the development of innovative services. Increasingly, services represent the most significant part of the economy in sectors that include digital media, healthcare, finance, entertainment, telecommunications, retail, leisure and the Internet. Service-centric thinking places people, networks and experience at the core of how services are designed and invented. Service design is now recognized as a new and emerging design profession that entails service innovation and experience design, where designers consider the architecture and touch points people use to engage with a service, and how services are interconnected as ecologies.

Design for sustainability is an interdisciplinary program providing educational opportunities that embrace sustainability as an integrative framework. By synthesizing the strengths of various design disciplines it focuses on holistically addressing large-scale challenges to the human condition. Students from various fields design products, environments and services, integrating the "four Es" of sustainability (ecology, economy, equality and education), in the development process, thus strengthening the interconnectedness between business and environment, human beings and nature.

Complementary degrees in industrial design (B.F.A., M.A., M.F.A.) and design management (M.A., M.F.A.), as well as minors in design for sustainability, industrial design, interaction design and marine design are also offered.

Gattis adds, "The new design for sustainability program will be unique to SCAD and will offer the first truly multidisciplinary approach by including architecture, graphic design, interior design, furniture design, fashion, fibers and a host of design degrees offered here at the university."

IDSA is the voice of the industrial design profession, advancing the quality and positive impact of design. Industrial design professionals, educators and students make up the more than 3,300 members in 28 districts across the U.S. For more information about the conference, visit www.idsa.org. The conference will feature three days of sessions by leading design practitioners, educators and design theorists for a diverse array of dynamic presentations, provocative discussions and interactive workshops.

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