Design Context 1
MODULE CODE
CREDIT VALUE
Module Aims
Aim 1
Introduce the student to key concepts, cultural issues and contextual discussions that underpin and complement studio practice and professional practice.
Aim 2
Explore the historical development of the designer practitioner and the design profession.
Aim 3
Introduce a broad range of cognitive (research, analysis/synthesis and evaluation) skills.
Aim 4
Foster integration of knowledge, understanding and application appropriate to the student's development as creative thinker and reflective practitioner.
Module Content
This module contains:
• An introduction to key issues and concepts through a historical design context.
• An exploration of design moments and key designers in terms of both their chronological and stylistic place in the design continuum.
• A broader critical contextual discussion and its application to cross-disciplinary design thinking.
• An introduction to concepts, techniques and methods of research and investigation appropriate to the theory of design.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, a student will be able to:
Teaching Methods
The subject is introduced using a series of lectures, presentations and videos. Seminars are also arranged to support discussions where key topics are discussed. Students are invited to engage in the learning through them providing comments and encouragement to ask questions during all sessions.
Research and critical writing skills are discussed and encouraged throughout.
Students are supported to relate the work in this module to their respective subject areas and design practice. Where appropriate employability is discussed which will help students to use the skills and knowledge gained to inform their own practice and employability.
A comprehensive series of hand-outs have been developed covering the main themes discussed in the lectures. Guidance is provided from commonly raised questions and examples of previous submissions and case studies made available to students for reference.
Students receive Formative Feedback part way through their studies, which they have the opportunity to respond to before the summative assessment at the end of the module. At the end of the module students also receive Summative Feedback following assessments. Feedback is verbal (through tutorials, reviews and critique) and written.
Students will be assessed by design staff and moderated across the subject areas for all work in this module. The content is structured around four core themes and how they contextually relate to practice:
Design Practice – introduces how practitioners respond to briefs, problems and issues in a creative, appropriate and novel manner. Design practice focuses on people and process across a range of design disciplines and the concept of multi-disciplinary design.
Design Product – introduces the identity and interpretation of ‘the product’. It also considers the role and significance of ‘the product’ in culture and society. Central to this core theme are people, meaning and use and the contexts of desire, function, sustainability and status.
Design Discourse – Identifies and develops the student’s skills and awareness of the specific languages relevant to design research, investigation and conceptualisation. The theme also introduces an awareness of the distinctions between written communication for academic and professional contexts.
Design Reflection – introduces the realities of employability and becoming a professional design practitioner. This core theme focuses on developing awareness, confidence and ability to articulate ideas and design realisations through coherent reflection and practice.
The lectures start with basic design theory (i.e. semiotics) thus forming a foundation of knowledge, followed by a series of lectures on important designers and design movements in chronological order, each lecture linking to previous lectures, and where appropriate referring to ideas / theories from thus forming a strong base of both knowledge and understanding of how design has developed historically to the present day.
Assessment Methods
This module is assessed through one Contextual Portfolio.
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Compulsory
