SALA’s Design Discovery summer program consists of two two-week courses, designed to give high-school students, college students, graduates, and second-career professionals an introduction to the world of design. These courses can be taken individually or together, allowing participants to explore the field at their own pace, and based on their specific interests.
You will build skills, develop projects for a portfolio, and – most importantly – learn if a career in design is right for you. Sessions with SALA faculty, current students, design professionals, and your peers will introduce you to what an education in design looks like.
SALA’s facilities on the UBC Vancouver campus will be your home base for the program. In both courses, you’ll develop foundational skills in drawing and modeling through a series of sequential projects and activities. These assignments build on one another to move you through understanding one of the core tenets of design: scale. Additionally, both courses investigate design thinking, but each from different angles that provide differing perspectives to help you think by design. Throughout both courses, SALA faculty members, current students, and professionals from Vancouver’s design community will give presentations about their practice, and their journey through a career in design. Each course will include tours of some of Vancouver’s most remarkable spaces, as well as visits to some of the city’s top design offices.
Designing for Experience
June 30 to July 11
Unlock the power of design to shape experiences in this immersive course. You’ll explore how design influences user interactions across small, medium, and large-scale spaces and projects. Dive into the world of affective design, and learn how sensory experiences can transform ordinary spaces into meaningful places. Through this course, you’ll discover how Vancouver itself serves as a living, breathing design, made up of a unique blend of spaces that together tell stories of identity and memory. Gain a deeper understanding of how design connects us to the world around us and creates lasting impressions.
This course includes class on the July 1 Canada Day statutory holiday.
Designing for Behaviour
July 14 to 25
In this dynamic course, you’ll explore how design shapes user behavior within medium, large, and extra-large spaces and projects. Learn the principles of effective design by examining how function, programming, and behavior intersect to create systems that extend beyond one place or thing. Through this lens, you’ll discover Vancouver as a complex, designed system—an intricate web of interconnected flows and networks, all driven by how we move and act within the space. Uncover the powerful relationship between design and behaviour, and how it transforms the way we experience our environment.
You’ll be guided through the program by SALA alum and educator Sam McFaul. Holding degrees in Environmental Design, Education, Architecture, and Landscape Architecture, Sam has unique design experience across disciplines. He is also a teacher, leading courses in visual art, architectural design, and drawing. You will also be assisted by current SALA students, who will share their first-hand experiences of design school.
You’ll also have the chance to learn more about our programs, find out what our faculty are working on, and explore architecture and landscapes at UBC and around Vancouver.
Cost
$1,500 per course
$2,500 for both courses
The program fee covers instruction and course supplies. Students are responsible for their accommodation and meals during the program. Accommodation is available on the UBC campus through Suites at UBC.
I’m so grateful for this program. It helped confirm how much I want to be a landscape architect. I learned so much and can’t wait to apply my new knowledge in my everyday life.
2024 participant
Design Discovery was an amazing opportunity to extend my knowledge on things I am already passionate about and to meet other people that share similar interests.
2024 participant
This class made me fall in love with design. Through captivating lectures, and outside the box thinking, the teaching team’s passion for learning and design inspired many students in the class.
2024 participant
Frequently asked questions
Some of the skills that you will be developing are hand drawing, drafting, model making, design thinking, site analysis, and learning how to assemble a portfolio.
During the program students will work on a total of three design projects. You will also participate in design studios, seminars, and field trips. Students will not be taught how to use any software in Design Discovery, however students are free to use software to assist them with their design projects if they wish.
Students are expected to be able to attend full-time hours (approximately 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) for the duration of Design Discovery.
Design Discovery is an in-person program, which means participants need to be in Vancouver, BC for the duration of the program.
Each course is designed in a progressive format, with new knowledge needed to build your skills being delivered each day. While the course is not graded and therefore up to you as to how much you wish to participate, we strongly recommend that participants plan to attend all of the classes they have signed up for.
Applications are non-competitive and we accept applications on a rolling basis. We will close applications once we reach capacity.
Design Discovery is an experiential program; participants are not graded on their work. The program does have a completion certificate which you can add to your records/resume, but it is not an official UBC certification.
The program is not accredited, therefore UBC does not grant credits for course completion.
We ask for a deposit of $500 at the time of application. This deposit guarantees your spot in the course. The remaining amount will be due in early May. Further information will be in the information package you will receive in April.
Monday to Friday from 9a.m. to 5 p.m. with a one-hour lunch break from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Most days start with a one-hour lecture on a topic related to the project you are working on, followed by time in studio either being introduced to a project, working on your project or receiving desk critiques on your work. The afternoons will vary; some have tours while others will have project reviews or guest lectures.
The courses be taken individually in any order.
At this time, we do not have housing associated with the program. There is accommodation that can be self-arranged on-campus through Suites at UBC for participants 19+ or those travelling with a parent or guardian.
Contact information
If you have any questions, please contact:
Tara Deans
Manager, Student Services and Recruitment
designdiscovery@sala.ubc.ca