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Design Philosophy (H1044)

15 credits, Level 6

Autumn teaching

In this module, you’ll explore the overlap between design and philosophy - how designers think and work, what designers do during the design process and, the nature of design skills. You’ll learn about past design movements, the role of a designer, and how creative thinking is applied. The module covers different aspects of design ability, from beginner to expert.

The aim is to deepen your understanding of design thinking. You’ll receive commentary and advice, plus the chance to start your own research, related to your design practice. This will help you reflect on your work and question your methods.

Ultimately, you’ll produce a series of essays that come together as a comprehensive piece of research.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 117 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses:

• Product Design (with an industrial placement year) BA
• Product Design (with an industrial placement year) BSc
• Product Design BA
• Product Design BSc