Design@Large

Students are expected to engage in an experience outside of the MDes courses and studio and apply what they have learned about design and technology in a broader context through their Design@Large. The experience takes place in the summer between the MDes Spring and Fall semesters. The Design@Large degree requirement is uniquely defined by each student’s own interests and career goals, and may be satisfied by:

  • securing an industry internship,
  • contributing to a research project,
  • launching or contributing to a new start-up or business, 
  • leading an independent or collaborative project,
  • working in a government, service, or non-profit organization,
  • teaching, mentoring, or volunteering,
  • engaging in an immersive, community-based experience, and/or
  • a combination of different experiences in the above categories 

Regardless of the details, this should be a robust learning experience; students should plan to devote at least 240 hours (the equivalent of working full-time for 6 weeks) to their Design@Large experiences.

The MDes program provides career coaching, specific programming, and other resources to aid students in their pursuits. It is each student’s responsibility, however, to define and identify their Design@Large experience.

Students are expected to demonstrate the completion of the Design@Large requirement by presenting on their experience to the incoming MDes cohort at the start of fall semester.

Examples of Design@Large experiences during Summer 2023 

Internships

  • Product Design Validation Engineer Intern @ Apple
  • Product Design Intern @ Autodesk
  • Product Design Intern @ Paramount
  • Hardware Engineer @ Google
  • HCI Analyst Intern – Adept AI
  • Aeronautics Design Sprint Intern @ NASA
  • Design Intern @ IDEO Shanghai
  • Concept Designer @ HTC Creative Labs
  • Experience Designer @ Adobe
  • UX Design Intern @ Cisco
  • Mechanical Engineer @ Tesla
  • Surface Development Intern @ Forvia
  • Product Designer @ Duolingo
  • Footwear Designer @ EQLZ
  • Design Research Fellow @ BMW x JIDI
  • Interaction Designer @ Byte Dance
  • Product Design Intern @ Ripple
  • Design Intern – Pokemon Plastics @ Jazwares LLC
  • Design Intern @ AskEdith
  • UI/UX Designer @ Mint
  • Product Design Intern @ The Washington Post
  • Product Design Engineer Intern @ Tact Product Development, Inc.
  • Product Design Graduate Intern @ Sigma Computing
  • Web Developer @ The Center for Equity, Gender & Leadership at the Haas School of Business
  • Product Design Intern @ Beaches app
  • UI/UX Visual Design Intern @ Deka Research and Development Corp.
  • Product Design Intern @ Rubrik
  • Product Design Intern @ Chime

Research & Faculty-Led Projects

  • Visiting Student @ MIT Media Lab, Fluid Interface Group. Working on the development of interactive prototypes related to Extended Reality (XR), Generative AI, wearables, and physiological signals or biosignals sensing.
  • Graduate Student Researcher @ EECS Department, UC Berkeley. Conducting research in MRI technology.
  • Research Intern @ Center for Autism, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Working towards development of better interventions for people with severe autism.
  • Visiting Student @ Everyday Design Studio, Simon Fraser University. Focused on HCI research.
  • Graduate Student Researcher @ FHL Vive Center for Enhanced Reality, UC Berkeley. Developing 3D Object Tracking Pipeline and Digital Twin Dataset based on iPhone LiDAR.
  • Researcher @ Hybrid Ecologies Lab, UC Berkeley. Collaborating with a PhD student on Gossamer, developing smart fabrics.

Start-Ups/Independent Projects

  • Food Systems Researcher at African Alliance of Rhode Island + Bami Farm. Conducting research and taking on design and advocacy work to promote the African foodways movement in Rhode Island.
  • Participating in Berkeley Skydeck program as Co-Founder of Frida, an online platform designed to support divorced women in achieving financial independence.
  • Participating in Berkeley Skydeck program as Co-Founder of Enano, a startup focusing on sensor-based semiconductor technology that delivers real-time AI driven insights using precision tracking and high-fidelity spatial localization.
  • Design Exhibition World Tour + Cultural Immersion in South America + Skill Incubation.

Teaching roles

  • Graduate Student Instructor @ Jacobs Institute for Maker Launchpad program
  • STEAM Camp Instructor @ iD Tech

Examples of Design@Large experiences during Summer 2022 

Internships

  • UX Design Intern @ Microsoft
  • Design Technologist @ Logitech
  • Product Design Intern @ Uber
  • Service Designer @ IBM
  • Design + Engineering Intern @ NASA JPL
  • Experience Design Intern @ Adobe
  • Product Strategy Intern @ Method
  • Textile Design Intern @ Bilio
  • Product Design Prototype Intern @ Meta
  • Research Intern @ Microsoft
  • Technologist @ 10xBeta
  • Digital Sculptor Intern @ General Motors
  • UX Design Intern @ Amazon
  • Graphic Design Intern @ Applied Materials
  • Sr. UX Designer @ Capital One
  • Product Design Intern @ Squarespace
  • User Experience Design Intern @ Google
  • Product Design Intern @ LinkedIn
  • UX Design Intern @ Indeed
  • Product Designer @ Dynamoid
  • UX Designer @ BMW
  • Product Designer @ Zepelin
  • UX Design Intern @ Cisco Meraki

Research & Faculty-Led Projects

  • Development of Open-Source, Accessible Tech for Blind and Low-Vision Individuals with Joshua Miele, MacArthur Fellow and Principal Accessibility Researcher at Amazon Lab126.

Start-Ups/Independent Projects

  • Participating in Berkeley Skydeck program as CEO/Co-Founder of Empathie, a mental health app that teaches Asian Americans how to navigate tough life situations involving family, work, self-criticism, and other life stresses.
  • Continuing work on an award-winning startup, BroadAR, developing Smell Revived, the first virtual reality smell training system targeting Post-COVID smell dysfunction.
  • Establishing a materials-forward vintage clothing company.

Examples of Design@Large experiences during Summer 2021 

Internships

  • FreeStyle Libre Product Team @ Abbott
  • VR/AR consultant @ Accenture
  • Alibaba in Beijing
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • Product Design @ Earnest 
  • Ezra Lee Design+Build in Salt Lake City, UT
  • UX Design @ Google 
  • Microsoft Research
  • UX Design @ Microsoft
  • AI + UI @Tempo.fit
  • UX Design @ Tencent in Beijing
  • SchoolLab
  • TikTok in Shanghai
  • UX/UI @ TH Experiential

Research & Faculty-Led Projects

  • Verified Human Interfaces, Control, and Learning for Semi-Autonomous Systems with Björn Hartmann, Associate Professor, EECS
  • Generative Design for Learning-Based Oracle-Guided Compositional Symbiotic Design of CPS with Björn Hartmann, Associate Professor, EECS
  • LEGO ROAR with Allen Yang, Executive Director, FHL Vive Center.
  • Immersive Semi-Autonomous Aerial Command System: Virtual Reality Interface for Multi-UAV Teleoperation, with Allen Yang, Executive Director, FHL Vive Center
  • Installation for the “City X Venice” show organized by Tom Kovac at the Italian Pavilion of the Venice Biennale with Kyle Steinfeld, Associate Professor of Architecture 
  • Virtual Bauer Wurster Hall with Luisa Caldas, Professor of Architecture, Director XR Lab

Start-Ups/Independent Projects

  • Building the brand & fashion line in preparation for Shanghai Fashion Week Fall 2021
  • Building new business model for a personal business, and collaboration with a local new coffee shop to develop some guerrilla marketing approaches
  • Continuing award-winning project/start-up business with goal of securing funding or a place in a business incubator
  • Independent Industrial Design consulting