Concept-Based Design Project

In this project, students will be introduced to the steps of a concept-based design process and apply it to simple stories. This process gives students a new framework to approach creative challenges in the design process. Students will present design portfolios utilizing the elements of MELT. (Mood, Era, Location, Theme) with the use of the “What If” game. These elements are the building blocks of both the exploration and execution of their designs. By employing MELT and What If, students will generate the details and circumstances of the concept-based designs they will present.

By applying the elements of MELT, students will re-envision a classic story, myth, or fairy tale. Students will then share the newly envisioned story with their peers.

By identifying required elements (as dictated by the content of their assigned stories), students will compile a list of materials that are the essential components of their designs. From there, they can alter and expand their designs based on the conceptual interpretation of their stories.

Students will generate a simple conceptual statement for their stories. Working from their list of “must haves,” students will brainstorm various ways of achieving the requirements of their stories based on this concept statement, using newly imagined objects, items, or materials aligned to their stated concept. By asking “What if,” students will begin to reimagine the design of the world of their stories in unexpected ways. This will provide them with a much more complex approach to their designs.

Students will reconstruct the world of their stories based on the information they visualized in the “What If” game. Using that information, students will complete the Group MELT Exercise worksheet, research images/materials that best represent the new story world they have designed, and create a design presentation for their new story concept.

Students will present their completed design collages, including scenic, costume, and lighting designs for their assigned stories; give a presentation of the reimagined design elements of their stories based on the concept and imagery created throughout this project; and give an oral presentation that describes their concepts and the process they used to create their concepts. Students will take questions from both their teacher and their peers in order to clarify their concepts.