DESMA 10 = Hands down the easiest GE here. Completely laid back course where Huhtamo often plays Radiohead, has awesome key speakers, and presents pictures of his design history journeys. He does take attendance once in a while, there is a midterm, project, final

Good class & good teacher.
Highly recommended for a GE - super easy!
His lectures are entertaining and the material is pretty interesting.
The assignments (Midterm & Final) as well as the other graded aspects are easy.
If you do some reading you'll do great and if you don't - just guess ;)
I'm still surprised at how many design objects he pulls out of his pocket. lol
- Midterm: 1 paper
- Final: 1 group project
- quizzes / attendance / "design game"

Interesting class. I liked it a lot. Although it was hard to stay awake during long Friday mornings, I think establishing a good relationship with the TA and working hard will get you far. It is easy to dose off during lectures so make sure you drink some coffee or energy drink before hand if you are a easy victim to dim lights and a monotone voice. The grading is indeed a bit ambiguous, but as long as you do your work you will be fine. Start working on the midterm essay EARLY. I made the mistake of not doing so and suffered the consequences. Absorb all you can in the class. Professor Huhtamo is a well regarded figure in Design Media Arts and introduces many interesting topics during class. My personal favorite was the Maywa Deniki videos.

If you were not satisfied with the class, part of the reason is because of anger of not getting a good grade.

My advice? Pay attention and do not mentally categorize the class as being "Easy". Be prepared for the quizzes and if you don't do so well, remember that one of them will be dropped and one is a "given" A (you will see why). Start brainstorming with your group on the FINAL PROJECT EARLY. Do not be discouraged by a bad grade. I got a B on the midterm but still ended up with an A. :)

Do your reading and complete each reading assignment with an open mind, focused energy, and intrigue.

I couldn't agree more with the last 3 reviews. Your grade in this class is solely up to the TAs. The professor just comes in every Friday and do the 3 hrs powerpoint lecture. People either sign in and leave immediately afterward or they sleep through the 3 hrs. The TAs grade so harshly on the midterm, and you'll have to work super hard on the final project. I wouldn't recommend taking this class because you probably won't learn much, and it's not that easy to get an A.

couldn't agree more with the last two posts. the midterm grading blows and I did not learn anything useful in that class. but hey, if your idea of a good grade is around a B+, this class will be cake; you will only need to put in minimal effort.

couldn't agree more with the last eval.

This class is pretty ridiculous.

His video examples/pictures are interesting but interest does not denote usefulness, or development of knowledge. 1/10 of the class is paying attention. 4/10 of them are asleep. The rest just sign their name in for attendance and then depart shortly afterwards.

There are 3 quizzes. One of them is a free 100. One of them there are multiple answers for, out of three possibilities so doing well on the quizzes is not too hard at all. One is dropped anyways.

The midterm is graded horribly. Very very subjective, depends on your TA but I don't think there is consistency between TAs either. This is the only indicator of your grade that you will receive the entire quarter as well. He makes a point that lower midterm grades give better "final project results." I find this pathetic.

The final is a group project. It is stressful if you care about your grade because the requirements are as vague as the midterm and you have no idea where you stand in the class.

I'm sure I'll receive a B+, A-, or an A based on the previous reviews but using ambiguous grading for motivation is a cruel and unusual punishment.

Please don't take this class as a GE. You can do much better for Visual and Performing Arts. Good luck.

people are entertained too easily. the proof is in the comments below. namely, the person who said "his lectures will blow your mind". look around man, everyone's sleeping in this class! huhtamo, though a nice man, makes references to pop culture items but never develops anything fully. it is a general survey course, so maybe that's an excuse. but honestly, this class was a waste of my time, and the only thing i got out of it was the forced reading i had to do for the midterm, which by the way, he never ever talked about in class. in fact, he doesnt discuss ANY of readings whatsoever. when i e-mailed hiim about some questions i had about the reading for the midterm, he replied "that's up to you to investigate"

pros and cons of this class, lemme break it down:

pros
1. group project allows you to connect with people you usually wouldn't meet in a 400 person lecture hall
2. he's nice, but more nice than he is interesting
3. easy GE

cons
1. teacher and TA's are apathetic when having to grade and deal with 400 papers and quizzes
2. lectures were powerpoints and often dry and rehearsed, ..c'mon how long has he been teaching this class?
3. Haines 39 is a dungeon. It's cold to the point where it becomes a real problem to stay awake, as your numbed into a slumber
4. readings were never discussed or explored in depth, making them insubstantial
5. everything covered was just grazed and very on the surface to the point where any means of learning something worthwhile could not be achieved

very veryyy easy class. I got an A. As previously stated..
lectures are difficult to stay awake in, but try to pay some attention for the pop-quizzes.
He includes some video/music examples in his lectures so that keeps you awake kinda.
I read one chapter of the book, and I read most of the reader. The reader actually was a fun read.. the book not so much.
You should definitely take this class.

easy workload: three pop quizzes (the lowest one is dropped), a 5 page midterm paper on ornamentation (try to get it done early so you can show it to your TA and get suggestions, an in-class group project and a final group project. the only downside is the time: 9 am on fridays mornings, but if you are a morning person that shouldn't matter. huhtamo is a really cute, quirky professor who is really passionate about design and you will learn interesting things. pay attention to lecture so you can do well on the quizzes (in one quiz you have to draw a design of your alarm clock). easy A.