In ID: Form & Surface (ID3), students connect their skills and their personal interests while developing their student concepts into workable products. ID3 is the third in a series of six required design studios for ID majors and is typically taken the first semester of junior year. Students investigate issues such as human factors, need finding, materials exploration, and user/product interaction with a strong emphasis on concept and form excellence. ID3 is a time of transition from instructor-assigned projects towards encouraging each student to explore their own concepts, develop their own form language, create their own design parameters and prototype their own projects within particular product categories. ID3 is the moment when students begin to proactively drive their process. At the close if this studio, instructors will conduct Exit Interviews to confirm progress and provide guidance in preparation for Junior Review. Skills and knowledge introduced: graphics, business dynamics/value analysis, product development, design writing. Skills and knowledge reinforced: prototyping, sketching, photography, 2D layout, information design, brand, materials, manufacturing, sustainability, industry awareness, individual and group critique, meaning/semantics. Skills developed: modelmaking, 3D form, storytelling, visual presentation, oral presentation, design research, observational research, ideation, brainstorming.