Postgraduate Course: Design for Interactive Media (DESI11180)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | You will study a broad, flexible and integrated range of key and emerging digital design practices across multimodal interactive formats and platforms, that will provide a good foundation for further work in this area (e.g. animation, games design, virtual and augmented reality, immersive experiences, animation, interface design). You will develop fluency and extend existing skills in digital media production and you will aim to understand the potential of digital media to be combined into innovative and engaging forms and so that it may serve multiple purposes. |
| Course description |
Digital design often requires a multi-perspective approach to developing media and interfaces for a range of interactive experiences. This course introduces techniques and concepts used for designing and delivering engaging multimodal animated and interactive content for a range of digital formats including screen-based experiences and VR/AR applications. The course will provide you with opportunities to gain experience of integrating technologies and material. Themes include 3D modelling, animation, and interface design in the context of current and emerging platforms across 3D formats. The course promotes autonomy and connectivity in digital design practice.
You will explore ways in which digital media can be creatively designed, combines, manipulated, rendered and presented in interactive formats. You will be expected to make extensive use of the digital media you design in creative applications that respond to a practical project brief. Project work is supported by critical enquiry and reflection that explores the applicability of digital technologies in a professional design context embedded in commercial and creative practice. The course fits within a context of smart spaces and pervasive media and encourages ethical / responsible design in terms of digital materials and data.
The project brief will challenge you to apply diverse imaginative and conceptual ideas introduced in lecture and tutorial sessions, while offering scope for individual focus, exploration, and experimentation. You will advance through a series of lectures, demonstrations, practical project work, exercises and critique. Project work will lead you towards insight into collaborative processes with other practitioners. Whilst the collaborative process itself will not be directly assessed and given credit, you will work together with others to produce and evaluate digital media. You will keep a record of your design methods and submit a critical and reflective account of your practice along with your design work.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This Course does not require any additional costs to be met by the Student. |
| Additional Costs | This Course does not require any additional costs to be met by the Student. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Some experience of using digital design technologies for creation, editing and presentation of digital media. Students from outside MSc Design and Digital Media should contact the Course Organiser to discuss the suitability of the course for their current level of experience. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 9,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 5,
Online Activities 6,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 4,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
150 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has 2 assessment components.
Project Draft and Documentation, practical digital design work plus written report (guide length 750 words) submitted as a single object,¿40%,¿weeks 5 to 7, assessed against Learning Outcomes¿1, 3 and 4. Individually assessed.
Completed Project and Documentation, practical interactive digital design work plus written report (guide length 750 words) submitted as a single object,¿60%,¿December exam diet, assessed against Learning Outcomes¿1, 2, 3 and 4. Individually assessed.
Further information:
Project Draft and Documentation and Completed Project and Documentation are linked by a single project brief with staged design, development and implementation. Work for component 1 is used to develop work for component 2.
Resubmission Information
The resubmission arrangements for this course are as follows -
Students will submit to the original assessment brief. |
| Feedback |
Students receive formative verbal feedback throughout the course in tutorials and critique sessions of submissions and practical exercises.
Written feedback on summative assessments is provided within guidelines for submission of assessed coursework, and feedback for Submission 1 will be useful in developing Submission 2.
Summative feedback will be provided according to University regulations. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Make skilful use of advanced digital design techniques to produce creative media and interfaces suitable for a range of interactive experiences.
- Integrate multimodal design and interactive behaviours to develop responsive and engaging digital media for established and emerging interactive platforms.
- Resolve design problems by exploring current and prospective digital design approaches and applications.
- Critically evaluate solutions and present reflective and innovative responses to a design context.
|
Reading List
Barrett E. 1995. Contextual Media: Multimedia and Interpretation, MIT Press, Cambridge.
Bolter, JD & Grusin R. 2000. Remediation: Understanding New Media. MIT Press, Cambridge.
Dunne, A. 2005. Hertzian Tales: Electronic products, aesthetic experience, and critical design. MIT Press, Cambridge.
Koenitz, H et al. 2015. Interactive Digital Narrative: History, Theory and Practice. Routledge, New York.
Lister, M et al. (2009) New Media: A critical introduction (2nd Ed.), Routledge, New York.
Moggridge, B. 2007. Designing Interactions. MIT Press, Cambridge.
Pallant, Chris. 2015. Animated Landscapes: history, form and function. Bloomsbury, New York. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Graduates will be inquisitive, adaptable, resourceful, reflective and effective, contributing to the ability to work in a range of professional areas.
Graduates will extend and consolidate competency and knowledge in a significant set of skills, techniques and practices appropriate to developing original and creative responses to digital design contexts.
Graduates will have an appreciation of the collaborative and integrative nature of design projects that involve digital media, and the ability to work independently and in peer relationships that require organisation and individual initiative and autonomy in managing time and prioritising work tasks.
Graduates will be able to evaluate and critically assess solutions to design issues, and to confidently and effectively present and communicate original work and ideas to a range of audiences. |
| Keywords | Digital Design,Digital Media,User Interface,Animation,VR,AR,3D Modelling,Immersive Media |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Cenk Koknar
Tel:
Email: cenk.koknar@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Barbara Bianchi
Tel: (0131 6)51 5736
Email: barbara.bianchi@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage