THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2020/2021

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Edinburgh College of Art : Design

Undergraduate Course: Product Design: Professional Practice (DESI10143)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh College of Art CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course will support reflection and practice of students' professional development within the field of product design. It will leverage students' communication and presentation skills to a professional standard, reflecting impact, contribution and positioning of work within emergent trends in product design.
Course description This course explores the multiple ways in which designers can position themselves within the discipline. It will extend students understanding of professional practice, inviting them to reflect on boundaries and crossovers of product design with other disciplines, framing their work within emergent trends in product design.

The weekly sessions will consist of seminars, workshops and discussions that explore ways of positioning, presenting and disseminating work through formal and informal practices according to different targeted and specialised audiences.

This course will:
1. Consolidate students' critical view, reflecting on principal areas, features, boundaries, terminology and conventions of current Product Design discourses and practices and crossovers with other disciplines;
2. Strengthen individual awareness of personal development goals within product design;
3. Encourage exploration of different methods and choice of appropriate media to clearly communicate students' practice to specialised and targeted audiences
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2020/21, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 1, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 16, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 2, Formative Assessment Hours 1, Summative Assessment Hours 1, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 175 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) This course includes three components of assessment:

1. A personal webpage containing documentation of key aspects of the research development and reflections of 3 design projects, one of which should be the student's final year project
2. Documentation of curated content from discourse, practice and resolution (equivalent to 20 A4 pages).
3. Curation of the exhibition of the final year project, including signage, video, and supporting artefacts.

All components will be weighted equally and will be assessed against the 3 Learning Outcomes.
Feedback Formative feedback will be provided in person through 1:1 tutorial meetings upon review of deliverables, with written feedback provided at the mid-point of the semester.

Summative feedback will be provided orally at final presentation and through assessment of portfolio submission
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Structure and summarise a body of practice in product design, contextualising it within a specific area of the field, while critically reflecting on their own professional development.
  2. Propose new ways to communicate their practice through various media and a clear underlying narrative, with a view to targeting particular audiences.
  3. Analyse and choose appropriate formats and channels to disseminate work according to a particular angle of the design practice.
Reading List
Airey, D. (2012). Work for money, design for love: answers to the most frequently asked questions about starting and running a successful design business. New Riders.

Barton, G. (2016). Don't get a job, make a job: how to make it as a creative graduate. Laurence King Publishing.

Kelley, T., & Kelley, D. (2013). Creative confidence: Unleashing the creative potential within us all. Currency.

Srnicek, N. (2017). Platform capitalism. John Wiley & Sons.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Students will develop key skills in terms of knowledge acquisition, the ability to apply that knowledge, and to reflect critically on their own practice.

By structuring their work and contextualising it within an area of product design, choosing appropriate ways to present to specific audiences (LO2), students will analyse features, conventions and terminology used by other professionals in related areas.

By proposing creative ways to communicate their practice (LO2) they will demonstrate some originality and creativity with dealing with professional issues. By choosing appropriate channels to communicate their practice (LO3), they will demonstrate ability to offer professional insights, interpretation and solutions to problems and issues.

In this course, students will propose appropriate ways to communicate their practice through various media (LO2), which will require some knowledge of ICT applications. They will look at ways to present their work to informed audiences, communicating their work to peers, senior colleagues and specialists on a professional level. This will characterise a specialised area of product design (LO3).
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserMiss Isla Munro
Tel:
Email: Isla.Munro@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Sophie O'Shea
Tel: (0131 6)51 5448
Email: soshea@ed.ac.uk
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