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70 153 GK5 Design Theory II
Completed course listed under prerequisited knowledge or equivalent.
The course builds on Design Theory 1 and concerns how knowledge of design is used in research. The course provides a basis for understanding what design research can be today and how it is relevant to design practice.
The course provides a basis for using theoretical and methodological approaches that are relevant to the design discipline today. Interdisciplinary issues are addressed through practical workshops with design practitioners and theorists in order to motivate the students and encourage them to be independent in relation to the diversity of theoretical perspectives. The course underpins and develops a critical approach to the students’ studio practice and their position as designers over and above their practice. The students will develop a critical and nuanced understanding of design through workshops on criticism and communication, ethics and culture.
The course aims to get students to relate to a complex design practice through exercises in ethics and history, aesthetics and method, communication and cooperation. The design discipline is often practised in close cooperation with other disciplines that build on other theories, priorities and principles. The goal of the course is to strengthen design students’ ability to reflect on and communicate their own practice and discipline.
KNOWLEDGE
• The students shall be able to find information about important underlying topics in the design discipline and important persons, texts, design works and designers relating to these topics.
• A critical approach to the diversity of sources in design and design theory.
SKILLS
• Create an understanding of the students’ own position in the field, and of the underlying principles, systems, attitudes and mechanisms of design.
• The course will strengthen designers’ ability to work with other disciplines and unfamiliar practitioners.
• Use strategies and methods to find out how to design for new situations and unfamiliar practitioners by finding and using relevant research and theory.
• The students shall also be capable of finding references in literature as well as relevant design and designers to form a critical approach to design topics and issues.
• The students shall be capable of formulating good questions and be able to substantiate and justify them based on their own field.
GENERAL COMPETENCE
• The students shall be capable of relating to different points of view in the design discipline and seeing their own professional stance and practice in perspective.
• The students shall – through exercises and discussions – have the ability to become engaged in, articulate and discuss design topics.
• The students shall have acquired a repertoire of methods and strategies they can use to actively gain insight into key discourses and theoretical perspectives relating to design today and in future.
Preparatory reading, lectures (by internal and external lecturers) with follow-up assignments (individual and in plenary sessions, practical and written), discussions, brief presentations and structured debates. Workshops with design practitioners and theorists.
Compulsory submission of course assignments on Moodle and a written assignment that reflects the student’s learning outcome.
There is a dedicated shelf at the library with selected course literature that students can borrow. The students will also be given essays, articles and book chapters throughout the course, which will also be available in Moodle.
| Mandatory coursework | Courseworks required | Presence required | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise | 3 | Required |
| Form of assessment | Grouping | Grading scale | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project assignment | Individual | A-F |
| Workload activity | Comment |
|---|---|
| Attendance | Attendance, independent work and participation in discussions and presentations. |