Designing with People, 12 credits

Contents

Conceptual Orientation, 3 credits

The module aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of ethics in design, co-creation, and participatory design. Students are introduced to design ethnography as well as the opportunities and challenges that arise in co-creative processes. Furthermore, service and systems design are addressed as approaches for applying these insights in the development of coherent wholes, where products are understood as parts of services and larger systems.

Expected learning outcomes: ELO 1, ELO 2

Theme Week: Future Technologies, 1.5 credits

The module focuses on exploring various future technologies and contexts relevant to the design field. The module constitutes a theme that spans across the years of the bachelor's program.

Learning Goals: ELO 9

Applied Project Work, 4,5 credits

In this module, students develop skills in working within collaborative environments and in addressing contemporary design challenges through co-creative methods. The work includes planning and conducting workshops with a focus on collaboration and idea generation, as well as the application of visual and creative tools in the design process. Students further deepen their ability to systematically address design-related problems in a real-world context, as well as to document both the process and the outcomes.

The design work includes both co-creative elements and the development of a final design proposal.

The results of the module are presented through a design proposal that may take various forms, for example a graphical representation of a service or a system, along with a more detailed design of a specific touchpoint, such as a physical or digital artifact, and its relation to the proposed service.

Expected learning outcomes: ELO 4, ELO 5, ELO 6, ELO 7, ELO 8

Design Communication, 3 credits

In this module, students present their work from the applied project work both orally and visually. Students reflect on and analyze the working process in the interdisciplinary project. The module also includes the development of an individual portfolio as a communication tool to describe competencies and level of knowledge.

Expected learning outcomes: ELO 9, ELO 10

Expected learning outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding:

(ELO 1) Demonstrate familiarity with concepts and the historical overview of design ethnography and design ethics.

(ELO 2) Demonstrate familiarity with and be able to exemplify services or systems in which sustainable perspectives—such as social, ethical, and economic models—are integrated.

(ELO 3) Analyze and discuss how different individual abilities and group dynamics can be used to support interaction and creativity in teamwork.

Competence and Skills:

(ELO 4) Demonstrate an understanding of participatory design by planning and carrying out an innovative design project in a team in collaboration with stakeholders, partner companies, or organizations.

(ELO 5) Organize participatory activities with users and other stakeholders.

(ELO 6) Apply methods for developing and prototyping products and services within a systems context.

(ELO 7) Deliver an oral and communicative argumentative presentation of the work process and results.

(ELO 8) Demonstrate and present work through visualization and communication of the concept.

Judgement and Approach:

(ELO 9) Critically examine and experiment with new and emerging technologies to understand their potential impact on industrial design and sustainable future scenarios.

(ELO 10) Account for the opportunities and challenges that may arise in co-creative design processes within the concept of “design with.”

Required Knowledge

Admission to the course requires at least 60 credits completed in the Bachelor's Programme in Industrial Design at Umeå Institute of Design, or the equivalent. Proficiency in English equivalent to Swedish upper secondary course English B/6.

Form of instruction

The teaching consists of lectures, seminars, workshops, reflections, dialogues, field studies, practical exercises, and activities carried out both in groups and individually. Students are encouraged to support each other’s learning through exploratory and experimental approaches, with a focus on learning by doing.

Presentations are carried out in various formats, including oral presentations, visual representations, and written texts. The course includes assignments, and students receive supervision in connection with practical exercises.

Participation in seminars, as well as the presentation of exercises, project work, and reflections, is mandatory.

Examination modes

Each module is assessed continuously throughout the course and includes submissions in the form of written and/or visual material, oral presentations, individually or in groups.

To pass the course, all modules must be completed with a passing grade. Grades are given for each module and for the course as a whole according to the scale Fail (U) or Pass (G).

Adapted assesment

For students who have received a decision on recommended support due to a disability, the examiner may decide to deviate from the form of assessment stated in the course syllabus. Any individual adaptation of the form of assessment shall be considered based on the student’s needs and the course’s expected learning outcomes. For more information, see the Procedure for Support for Students with Disabilities and the Rules for Grades and Examination.

Transfer of credits

A student can receive credit for all or parts of this course if they can present a certificate showing that they have completed and passed an equivalent course. Furthermore, approval by the course responsible teacher is required, based on an assessment of the student’s knowledge level and experience in the subject area concerned. For further information, refer to the Procedure for Credit Transfer on Umeå University's website, www.student.umu.se.