Design Studio II, 7.5 credits

Main field of study with advanced study

The course Design studio I 7.5 hp. Exemption of the requirement in Swedish is granted. English 6.

The course is a part of the Digital Design and Innovation program, 180 credits. The course is also offered as a single subject course.

The main goal of the course is for students to deepen their knowledge and skills in conducting a design-oriented project. Students work in project groups to develop their ability to plan, execute, and evaluate a complete project within the given timeframe, from preliminary study, concept generation, sketching, and prototyping to implementation and assessment. Another objective of the course is for students to enhance their ability to evaluate design as an artifact and process, both in general and in digital design specifically.

Following successful completion of the course the student should be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• explain the different stages of a design process.
• describe how the design artifact fits within an existing ecosystem of services

Skills and ability

• plan and practically carry out a user study and design-driven development project within given parameters
• effectively communicate design ideas through the selection of form and content
• apply theories, models, methods, tools, and principles to manage design complexity in design projects

Judgement and approach

• evaluate and critically reflect on design competence related to professional design practices
• evaluate and continuously argue for or against design decisions throughout a design process
• reflect on various aspects of the experience within the project's scope

The course content focuses on working systematically through a complete design process, including methods for conducting user studies, user and usage mapping and modeling, sketching, prototyping, design criticism, and basic programming and evaluation. Throughout the course, structured design criticism and reflection on the effects of the developed solution on users in a relevant usage context are continuously carried out. Visits to professional design and development activities may occur.

The teaching primarily consists of short lecture sessions, design criticism sessions facilitated by instructors, and guidance. There are also moments where instructors and students co-create. Lectures are conducted in English.

The developed artefact and design process are addressed in a written project report (2.5 credits) and presented orally (1 credit). The examination also includes individual oral and written design criticism of other student groups' work (2.5 credits) and an individual reflection (1.5 credits).

If there are special reasons, the examiner may make exceptions from the specified examination format and allow a student to be examined in another way. Special reasons can e.g. be study support for students with disabilities.

Course evaluation is part of the course. This evaluation offers guidance in the future development and planning of the course. Course evaluation is documented and made available to the students.