Teaching – Erik Asia

DESIGN EDUCATOR

Sessional Instructor (2024-Present)
Emily Carr University of Art + Design

I am an Industrial Design instructor at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, British Columbia. I have taught studio and lecture courses on industrial design project development, freehand drawing and drafting methods, and ergonomics.

Design Studio Classroom

Design studios allow for critical thinking, iterative making, and diverse exploration of ideas. I make use of engaging course materials to allow the studio environment to be more immersive and collaborative. As with my personal design and research practices, I prefer not to tell or even show, but rather let people experience first-hand what I am trying to convey, and having a tangible and engaging studio environment allows for great flexibility in emphasizing this approach.

Course Delivery + Materials

I have delivered lectures primarily in the context of teaching Industrial Design, always making sure to be interactive and engaging. To support these lectures, I develop course materials such as printed worksheets, project briefs, design prompts, online games, and exam sheets to break down complex topics into more manageable bits of information that culminate into greater understanding by students. Sometimes, I like to throw in a few 3D printed models and tools to help communicate ideas better.

Research Practice + Teaching

My research interests lie in the realm of design psychology, human factors, and frameworks for design education. I hope to practice my own research and design practices alongside teaching, as they all influence and greatly heighten one another.

Currently, I am exploring the creation of tangible tools for embodied learning that stimulates multi-sensory learning experiences through digitally fabricated tools that would be open-source and accessible to educators and learners.

Teaching Philosophy

I believe that education and learning is a powerful tool that helps transform lives. As an educator, I aim to instil in my students a deep appreciation for the value of education especially in the field of design by allowing students to discover themselves through critical thinking stimulation, a collaborative and conducive learning environment, having creative freedom, and building communication skills in and out of the four walls of the classroom.

I believe there are three qualities that would define my teaching:

First, I believe in not only telling nor showing, but rather allowing people to have first-hand experiences to engage and understand materials better. I believe tangible interactive experiences allow for better engagement with students and allow for a direct translation of concepts to medium that they would be able to associate with in the real world. Using our bodie, we can learn so much through movement, perception, and interaction with the things around us.

Second, I believe in encouraging my students to think outside of the box and make use of methods that may not even be remotely close to conventional design methods in order to investigate, conceptualize, create, and communicate their ideas. I would like to encourage my students to not view design as a step-by-step procedure to enact, but rather a dynamic and ever-changing process of getting to know the world they are designing for. With this, designers must adapt, and their thinking and processes must cope accordingly. It is not enough to be teaching design theories, software use, and hard skills. These must be supplemented by the ability to be resourceful, to think on one’s feet, and to believe in their own abilities and what they value. In order to translate these into learnings, it is not only necessary to learn what design is, but who and what it impacts in our everyday lives.

And finally, I believe in fostering a conducive learning environment where experimentation and failing is okay. We learn by doing, and if we don't try it out, we would never know if it works or not. School is the place to fail as many times as possible in attempts of trying things out. I want to drill this into them where failing is not actual failure, but rather a learning experience that we all go through at some point, especially in safe learning spaces, as it is the best place to fail safely and learn to grow.

To conclude, being an educator for me is being able to inspire and impart what value education holds to others through not only telling but allowing for students to have first-hand tangible interactive experiences, encouraging them to think critically and make use of other far-from-conventional-design methods in their ideas, and fostering a conducive learning environment where it’s okay to fail securely as they build their confidence in their own abilities through constant communication not only from their instructor but from their peers as well. As an educator, I not only impart my own learnings onto others, but also learn from both my students and peers alike.

Courses Delivered - All Courses

STUDIO

INDD 203: Freehand Drawing & Drafting

This course focuses on freehand techniques for developing and communicating ideas in the design process. One third of this studio covers fundamental conventional drafting skills, including the use of instruments, equipment, geometric constructions, theory of orthographic projections, dimensioning of detail drawings, general assemblies, axonometric, and isometrics. Two thirds of the course deals with freehand methods for thinking about and relaying ideas including skills describing form, material, motion, perspective, volume, space and light. Assignments will progress from simple exercises to more conceptually challenging projects.

STUDIO

INDD 315: Human Fit: Applied Ergonomics

This course supports core studio work in product design and interaction design by providing students with the opportunity to explore the ergonomic credibility and possibilities for their projects. A preliminary introduction to ergonomics methodology and testing protocols is followed by the testing and assessment of individual students' core studio prototype. This course will support a variety of different types of projects in various stages of development, including small skill-building opportunities in the application of ergonomic principles and effective and ethical testing protocols in the first part of the course continuing with focused and additional skills in the second part of the course. Techniques will be taught to assist in all phases of product development with a particular emphasis on effective testing protocols. Products are tested for physical ease of use as well as psychological and cognitive accessibility.

STUDIO

INDD 200: Core Studio Industrial Design

This introductory Core Studio acquaints students to key aspects of Industrial Design. Students will learn fundamental design principles, diverse materials, issues of sustainability, fabrication and making, while simultaneously exploring varied social and cultural contexts of industrial design. Students will engage in all aspects of the design process: research, analysis, sketching and iterative prototyping, and design development alongside presentation techniques in order to meet the required studio objectives, through both individual and group projects. Discussions and critical reflection throughout the development of their studio project work help students make informed design decisions.

LECTURE

SCIE 217: Ergonomics

This course focuses on the fundamentals of ergonomics, and the interface between human and machine. Students gain a basic knowledge of safety, maintenance, and ease of use. They will learn methods for investigating user behaviours, anthropometrics, the design of control devices and displays, human factors, and environmental psychology.

SUMMER TEENS

CSJA 126: Design for the Future

Utilizing imagination and creativity, students will explore how design can address real-world challenges and generate innovative solutions. Through collaborative, hands-on activities, students will begin to develop a designer’s mindset by applying design methods for creative problem-solving, generating ideas, and turning those ideas into tangible solutions.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN/3D PRINTING SERVICES FOR EDUCATION

As it is with my advocacy, if you are a student, an educator, or an education-related organization in BC, Canada in need of industrial design or 3D printing services, feel free to reach out and let’s collaborate bringing ideas come to life in every classroom.

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