Love, Brooke Designing Beneath the Surface: The Art of Human-Centered Systems Design. 2026. Radford University, Thesis. Radford University Scholars' Repository.
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Abstract
This visual comprehensive exam explores the development of a place-based human-centered design practice through lived experience, coursework, and applied community work. Through projects in food systems, farmers markets, tourism development, and public storytelling, the author examines how design thinking operates beyond prescriptive methods and toward reflective, systems-aware practice. Drawing on scholarship related to designerly ways of knowing, critique within design thinking, and systems theory, the project responds to contemporary debates surrounding the popularization of design thinking and the potential loss of rigor within simplified frameworks. The work introduces Rooted Methodology, a theory-in-practice framework that integrates systems thinking, regenerative design, and participatory engagement across multiple levels of influence. Grounded in the experiential domains of food, art, and nature, the framework positions design as a relational and place-based practice shaped by observation, critique, and iterative experimentation. The visual artifacts presented in this exam demonstrate how design thinking functions in real world contexts where trust, identity, and community participation shape outcomes. Together, the written analysis and visual work illustrate the evolution of the author’s design practice and contribute a grounded perspective to contemporary discourse on human-centered systems design.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Advisors Names: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Subjects: | N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general |
| Divisions: | Radford University > College of Visual and Performing Arts > Department of Design |
| Date Deposited: | 21 May 2026 01:01 |
| URI: | http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/1337 |
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