Postgraduate Course: Digital Media Studio Project (DESI11216)
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 | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Digital Media Studio Project is a team based course in which students develop an experimental digital media project for public presentation. Working in small groups with a project supervisor, students explore emerging tools, technologies and interfaces, and devise creative responses to real constraints of technology, time and resources. Through iterative prototyping, critique and reflection, the course builds skills in collaborative working, digital making and presenting work to external audiences, complementing practice and theory on MSc Design and Digital Media and related fields. |
| Course description |
Digital Media Studio Project is an intensive, practice-based course in which students work in teams on an experimental digital media project. Each group is allocated a project supervisor and a broad brief or theme. Within this framework, students are encouraged to explore a range of contemporary and emerging technologies, including but not limited to, for example, sound and image processing, physical computing, interactive installations, sensor-based interfaces, wearable technologies, location-aware media or performance-based work. The focus is on experimenting with technologies in ways that are conceptually coherent and critically informed, rather than on mastering a single tool.
The course runs as a studio with iterative development, group discussion, design development, presentations, criticism and feedback. Students develop, test and refine their ideas through sketches, prototypes and technical experiments, leading towards work suitable for public exhibition or demonstration. They are expected to engage critically with the cultural and experiential implications of their projects, as well as with practical issues such as reliability, accessibility and audience experience.
Students can expect a combination of lectures, demonstrations, workshops and supervised studio sessions. A typical week will involve a three hour studio class plus planned independent and group project work that forms an integral part of the course. Additional tutorials with supervisors may be arranged where appropriate, within the timetabled teaching pattern. Students should expect to spend substantial time outside scheduled hours developing and refining their projects, including technical experimentation and documentation, as part of their independent study. Towards the end of the course, groups will present their work in a public or public like setting, such as an exhibition, performance or demonstration event, with preparation for this taking place mainly through independent and group work outside timetabled sessions, supported by feedback during studio classes. The presentation format and associated documentation will be planned to support inclusive participation, with reasonable adjustments agreed where required.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | To fully participate in the course, students are recommended to budget a maximum of £80 per project group, typically shared between 5¿8 students, to cover any additional hardware and décor costs associated with their chosen project. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 6,
Online Activities 12,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
142 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has 2 assessment components.
Submission 1, 40%. A group submission consisting of work agreed with your project supervisor. Submission around week 7-8. Assessed against Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4. Group assessed. This typically includes early project outputs such as prototypes, sketches, tests or other agreed artefacts, with concise supporting documentation.
Submission 2, 60%. Final submission of the project work. Submission at the end of the semester, after the public presentation activity. Assessed against Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4. Group assessed. This includes the final project work as presented publicly (for example, installation, performance, interactive piece) and agreed documentation of the project's context, development and evaluation.
Further information:
Presentation activity towards the end of the semester, normally in the final teaching week. A non-examined presentation of the work to the general public, peers, or teaching team. Feedback from this event will inform the marking of Submission 2 but the presentation itself is not graded separately.
The format and arrangements for the presentation will be planned in advance with accessibility in mind. This includes providing clear information about the event, offering accessible ways to engage with the work (for example, captions or transcripts for audio and video where relevant), and agreeing on reasonable alternative arrangements where required so that all students can participate fully.
Detailed assessment briefs, including expectations for documentation and acceptable media formats, will be provided on the teaching platform at the start of the course.
In cases where a resubmission is permitted under University regulations, students will normally resubmit a revised version of the original component or components in line with the resubmission information on this course.
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| Feedback |
Formative Feedback
Students will receive formative feedback throughout the course in the studio environment:
During weekly studio sessions, supervisors and the course organiser will provide oral feedback on project concepts, technical experiments and group working, in whole class and small group formats, supporting students' preparation for the summative submissions.
At key project milestones, groups will take part in progress reviews where they present current work and plans, and receive structured oral feedback from staff and peers to inform the summative Submission 1 and 2.
Students can seek additional formative feedback in short tutorials with project supervisors or during office hours, for example to discuss technical challenges or project direction in relation to their summative work.
Formative feedback is intended to help students refine their project ideas, improve collaboration and prepare strong summative submissions.
Summative Feedback
Summative feedback will be provided in writing via Learn for each assessment component:
For Submission 1, feedback from the teaching team will address the strength and clarity of the emerging concept, the extent and quality of technical experimentation, and evidence of effective collaboration to date. In addition, the group members are expected to provide peer feedback on group contribution of each member, including themselves.
For Submission 2, feedback from the teaching team will comment on the ambition and resolution of the final project, the integration of technical and conceptual elements, the suitability of the work for public presentation, and the quality of documentation and reflection. In addition, the group members are expected to provide peer feedback on group contribution of each member, including themselves.
Feedback on Submission 1 will act as feedforward for the development of 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:
- Apply skilful use of appropriate digital tools and techniques in the context of a collaborative design project.
- Demonstrate an appreciation of the collaborative and integrative nature of digital media projects, and employ effective group working skills in planning and delivering project work.
- Develop and present project work in formats suitable for external or large scale presentation, taking into account audience, context and technical constraints.
- Reflect critically on the development and outcomes of the project, including their own contribution, while situating the work within relevant creative, technological or theoretical contexts.
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Reading List
Studio projects and technologies change from year to year and are determined by the Course Organiser and project supervisors in dialogue with the Programme Director. Reading and resource lists therefore change with each new cohort, with tailored materials issued as part of project briefings.
Examples of texts and resources that may be used on the course include:
Wang, J., 2025. Creation and Research of Interactive Art Design Works Integrating IoT Technology. International Journal of High Speed Electronics and Systems, p.2540723.
Houde, S. and Hill, C., 1997. What do prototypes prototype?. In Handbook of human-computer interaction (pp. 367-381). North-Holland.
McCarthy, J. and Wright, P., 2004. Technology as experience. interactions, 11(5), pp.42-43.
Noble, S.U., 2018. Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce racism. In Algorithms of oppression. New York university press.
Sengers, P., Boehner, K., David, S. and Kaye, J.J., 2005, August. Reflective design. In Proceedings of the 4th decennial conference on Critical computing: between sense and sensibility (pp. 49-58).
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The course supports the development of several Skills for Success:
Collaboration: Working in small project teams to plan and deliver an experimental digital media installation, performance or interactive work helps students understand and respect different perspectives, manage group processes and build positive working relationships under real constraints of technology, time and resources.
Critical thinking and problem solving: Designing, prototyping and refining a digital media project using tools such as sound and image processing, physical computing, sensor based interfaces or wearable technologies requires students to interpret an open brief, question assumptions, synthesise technical and contextual information, and devise creative responses to unpredictable technical and practical challenges.
Communication: Preparing work for public or public like presentation, and creating accompanying project documentation, develops students' ability to communicate complex technical processes and conceptual ideas clearly to specialist and non specialist audiences through demonstrations, visuals and written reflection.
Adaptivity and reflection: Iterative studio development and responding to feedback from supervisors, peers and public audiences support students in reviewing their decisions, coping with uncertainty and technical setbacks, and identifying strategies for improving both their collaborative working and their individual digital media practice. |
| Keywords | Digital media design,experimental technologies,interactive installations |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr David House
Tel:
Email: D.House@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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