This course is intended to integrate the design skills and point of view of Parsons Communication Design students in order to create children's books for the social enterprise, DERT. The class will participate with the social venture in their efforts to create, publish and provide books and learning tools to children's literacy programs. Students will work with DERT as contributing designers to transform classic stories into marketable on-demand books that are activated as fundraising and donation products. The class will work with DERT to create books targeted to children and their families, as well as young adults. DERT’s social mission is to ensure that all children identify as readers — by having access to books and being read to on a regular basis. Reading together is vital for all children through their preschool years and beyond. DERT publishes a unique line of books and learning tools designed to engage families in reading through all stages of life. DERT is on a mission to encourage reading and learning by inspiring barbers to be literacy advocates and activating barbershops into reading friendly spaces, and as venues to encourage reading together at home. The class will also partner with the communication design firm TODA, with team members being active in the classes development of their book products, participating in class presentations and critique reviews. Beyond students' work in designing book products, the class will focus on research, process, concepting, design execution, teamwork and presentation skills.

This course is designed to teach students how to apply design thinking and UX/UI design principles to real-world AI challenges through direct collaboration with AI startups in NYC. Working alongside startup founders and teams, students gain hands-on experience integrating AI capabilities into product design while addressing actual market needs. Through practical projects and real-world cases, students will learn AI-powered prototyping tools, responsible AI design principles, and the unique considerations of designing UX/UI for AI interfaces. By the end of the course, students will develop a portfolio-ready project in partnership with their startup collaborators that demonstrates their ability to design ethical and effective AI product solutions that solve meaningful user problems.