This course will provide you with a broader understanding of design that considers the profession's social, cultural, economic, artistic, and historical scope. You will be familiar with the right strategies for practical problem understanding across the phases of the design process and capable of analyzing and evaluating the various approaches. The repertoire comprises primary and secondary research methods, synthesis/evaluation methods, ideation/creativity methods, design methods, and design testing and evaluation procedures. You will be able to use the underlying design science terminology, such as from psychology and social sciences, to your understanding of design and method selection.

CONTENT AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Designerly ways of knowing

• Work in agile teams

• Conduct design research through design

• Project-based application of individual methods according to individual focus

• Analysis and evaluation of the most relevant design methods

• Ability to use diverse design methods for practical problem understanding.

• Fast-paced work through design research tools

• Follow processes toward purposeful (intentional) and meaningful (significant) design.

• Research and analyze design problems from different perspectives (e.g., users, society, cultural context).

• Discover and infer meaning and valuable insights.

• Quickly prototype, test, and iterate design ideas and concepts.

• How to select and bend the right design research tool or method for supporting your design process.

• How to make design decisions based on evidence and critical thinking.

• Extract knowledge from both primary and secondary research perspectives.

• Navigating and moving forward while facing uncertainty.

• Re-framing problems and building design hypotheses.

• Dealing and learning from mistakes.

• Approaching design challenges with a design mindset.

COURSE METHODOLOGY

This course will take a bottom-up approach to theory development to create or develop new theories based on data, insights, or observations rather than on existing assumptions, propositions, or frameworks.

The course will follow the principles of active learning pedagogy. Design-driven activities, making, and dynamic group discussions will be central to the class. Students will learn about, try, and experience various design tools for user-centered design and critical thinking. The students will work on four project-based design challenges, focusing on solving problems creatively.

The class will begin weekly with a quick check-in to address questions, followed by a short theory input (30 mins). These fast-paced segments will briefly cover the theory of design development methods and specific design research tools. After the theory input, the students will work on design challenges where they can try out specific design tools. The students receive group and individual design feedback (design crit) in a reflective conversation focusing on logical argumentation, critical thinking, theory-building, and design as a process. Students will also learn to give and receive design feedback following specific models. The class will end with a guided group reflection on the tools' relevance, comparing practical results to theory and highlighting the central insights of the day.

EVALUATION

Most of the work will take place during class. Therefore, the students must constantly participate, complete and present sketches of their design process during the course. These „on-the-moment“ presentations must show the methods they used, the insights they extracted, the design hypothesis they developed, and the results of their testing sessions. These on-the-moment presentations account for 20% of the grade.

At the end of the semester, the students present their process and project to the class (20% of the grade) and submit documentation (incom space) containing their entire process (60% of the grade). The presentation and documentation submission date will be communicated during the first session.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

On-the-moment presentations during class, end-of-semester presentations, and design documentation will be assessed by looking at the design development process, theoretical understanding of design method tools, critical thinking skills, and the relation between design hypothesis and proposed intervention. The students must show they understand and can use different design method tools and specific mindsets to command the design process.