ABSTRACT

“Design thinking” has emerged as one the of the discipline’s key movements, and is typically associated with having roots at the d.school at Stanford University. Its founder, and also the creative force behind global design company IDEO, is alumnus David Kelley, who has achieved legendary status. Prior to formation of the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (the d.school’s formal name), however, since the 1950s design education at Stanford consisted of many lesser known, but still influential, faculty members and an innovative curriculum combining engineering and art. This paper exposes the “founding fathers” of design education at Stanford (many of whom were David Kelley’s professors), and reveals two curricular proposals that preceded the d.school.