Undergraduate Course: Design Identities: Roles and Ecologies (Online) (DESI10156)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | On this course you will actively explore the roles played within a design organisation, and the ways a design organisation interacts with others to form an ecology of knowledge and production.
You will be supported to develop a new form of creative research practice, using visual methods drawn from Service Design to build a small exploratory case study on a design organisation or multi-stakeholder project of your choice. The output will take the form of an industry-facing report. This will complement the discipline-specific practices you have been building so far. |
| Course description |
This course is delivered through online distance learning. You will have regular points of online contact with your tutor. Teaching is through a combination of recorded/live lectures, online seminars/tutorials and virtual studio activities.
You will learn to combine observational and desk research methods in a case study approach, and to use visual communication tools to explore and describe the organisation or movement you are studying. Visual communication is increasingly used as part of strategic ¿design thinking¿ across different sectors and is a valuable skill for graduates. Design consultancies often use tools like personas and the business model canvas to visualise values, strategise, and improve their services.
There will be 2 pre-recorded lectures to be reviewed by the end of week 3.
Alongside this there will be 4 live, recorded lectures for briefings in weeks 1,5,6 &10. Seminars will also take place as whole groups in weeks 2 and 4 (2 hours each) and small group tutorials weeks 1,3,7 and 9.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | This course does not require additional costs to be met by students. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 9,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
185 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has [2] assessment components.
Folio of practice and research project plan, [annotated evaluation of four exemplar visual methods, drawn transformations of exemplars with annotated explanations, sketch development of alternative visual language of one selected method in the style of a named designer or artist, and 2 x 200-word written reflections; and a research project plan using the provided 3-page form], [weighting of component 30%], week [5], assessed against Learning 1-4, equally weighted.
[Visual case study report], [2500 words], [weighting of component 70%], weeks [May exam diet], assessed against Learning Outcomes 1-4, equally weighted.
Resit Information
The resit arrangements for this course are as follows.
The resit task for assessment component 1 is [Folio of practice and research project plan], [annotated evaluation of four exemplar visual methods, drawn transformations of exemplars with annotated explanations, sketch development of alternative visual language of one selected method in the style of a named designer or artist, and 2 x 200-word written reflections; and a research project plan using the provided 3-page form].
The resit task for assessment component 2 is [Visual case study report], [2500 words].
Students will receive further resit information as per University regulations where necessary. |
| Feedback |
Formative Feedback
The deliverables will be assessed against all the learning outcomes for this module. Formative feedback and grades will be provided via LEARN on 1) a folio of practice work undertaken in Miro and 2) an individual research project outline submitted part-way through the course.
Summative feedback
You will be provided at the end of the module using the University¿s Common Marking Scheme 1 (CMS1) via LEARN. You can see this at the end of this document, and in the Extended Common Marking Scheme at ECA section in the left-hand menu on the LEARN course page). |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Apply a case study approach to research.
- Apply, critique and create visual methods to support investigation and communication in a short research project.
- Evaluate roles within a design organisation or multi-stakeholder project.
- Analyse concepts of design knowledge and production ecologies.
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Reading List
UK Design Council (2015). Design Methods for Developing Services. https://oecd-opsi.org/toolkits/design-methods-for-developing-services/
Merholz, P. and Skinner, K. (2016). Org Design for Design Orgs. O¿Reilly.¿
Muratovski, G. (2016). Research for Designers. London: Sage.
Rodgers, P. and Smyth, M. (2010).¿Digital Blur: Creative Practice at the Boundaries of Architecture, Design and Art.¿Faringdon: Libri.¿
Sangiorgi, Daniela and Prendiville, Alison and Jung, Jeyon and Yu, Eun (2015) Design for Service Innovation & Development Final Report. Project Report. Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK. (pdf in Learn) https://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/id/eprint/9616/
Visocky O¿Grady, J. and Visocky O¿Grady, K. (2017). A Designer's Research Manual, 2nd Edition. Beverly, MA: Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Research and Enquiry
The ability to understand professional contexts in design disciplines.
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy
Ability to connect a potential workplace or experience with wider academic and intellectual frameworks.
Aspiration and Personal Development
Reflexivity on values both personal and professional and how these align.
Communication
Articulate and communicate motivations around employment and career development. |
| Keywords | online distance learning,design thinking,roles,ecologies |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sarah Kettley
Tel: (0131 6)51 5836
Email: Sarah.Kettley@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Hollie Gilligan
Tel:
Email: hgilliga@ed.ac.uk |
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