Masters Degrees (Digital Design)

About the course

This course offers a dynamic programme to equip graduates for creative roles in the digital branding industry – at executive, strategic and managerial levels.

A unique blend of digital design and technology in the context of branding, this MSc aims to fill a gap, by developing your knowledge and practical experience of both digital design and branding concepts.

You will also gain a deep understanding of digital media technologies and research methods, and complete a dissertation that involves the full design cycle.

Aims

Digital media and the internet are having a big impact in the way brands behave, interact and speak.

As these technologies continue to develop in terms of functionality, availability and speed, even greater opportunities will arise for those individuals who are able to combine traditional marketing insight with a true understanding of digital media, capturing these benefits and articulating them at both an academic and vocational level.

Course Content

Typical Modules:

Digital Branding Strategy
Brand Experience Design
Digital Design
Digital Media Technologies
Multimedia Research Directions
Major Project

Special Features

The College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences has been offering successful digital design courses for over 12 years at undergraduate level and recently at postgraduate level. This course builds on the following BSc undergraduate and MSc postgraduate courses already available:

BSc Digital Design
BSc Visual Effects and Motion Graphics
MSc Advanced Multimedia and 3D Technologies
MA Design and Branding Strategy

The course is delivered by a team of academics and design professionals.

Assessment

Modules are assessed by practical assignments, written exams or a combination of the two methods as appropriate.

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The Digital Design MA is concerned with the creation of any digital or computer related content or products. This includes digital media, digital products, digital interiors, digital exhibitions and installations, digital graphics, digital fashion and even digital branding and marketing. You can specialise in the following:

• Digital media design, including multimedia design, web design, 2D and 3D computer animation, visual and special effects for TV and film, mobile app design for tablets and smart phones, computer and video games, virtual and augmented reality and 2D and 3D visualisation

• Digital product design, including the design of any computer-based or screen-based product such as smartphones, smart TV’s, tablet devices, smart watches, games consoles, smart household appliances, information systems and 3D digital printing

• Digital interior design, including digital display and projection design, intelligent interiors, digital lighting design and digital furniture design

• Digital exhibition, museum and installation design, including digital heritage resources, digital archeology, interactive kiosk and installation design, virtual museums and exhibitions

• Digital graphic design, including the design of e-books, e-learning, interface design, interaction design and digital signage

• Digital fashion design, including the design of wearable computing, smart clothing design and digital fabrics

• Digital branding and marketing design, including digital corporate identity design, logo design, social media marketing, digital channel advertising and promotion

You will have access to industry standard software and hardware such as Adobe Creative Suite and Autodesk MAYA while working in a dynamic environment with ongoing multimedia research and commercial projects. There are also opportunities to work on digital design projects set by external companies and other organisations. You will develop the skills and ideas to go on to employment as a digital designer or to set up your own business as a freelancer after graduation.

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The aim of the Web and Digital Design program is to develop professionals within the industry who are able to plan, produce, and share knowledge in an effective way.

The program offers an experimental pathway at the forefront of design, marketing, and technology. Students blend sound design competence with strategic vision, knowledge of technical aspects and project management skills in order to coordinate all the different stages in the development process.

The program incorporates art direction and design, content, solid technical skills and an in-depth background in digital marketing and communication.

The curriculum is a balance between theoretical teaching and practical tasks. Project-based activities in particular are central to the learning experience and leverage abilities and information acquired in the other courses.

Projects follow a professional workflow, which encompasses the definition of the digital strategy, the interaction model and users' journey, the design of the interface and its look and feel, the creation of a prototype using front/back end programming tools.

As the user experience is increasingly developing through social media, companies are changing their business accordingly. This new and thrilling scenario is deeply investigated with specific regard to the integration of content and navigation flow between websites, search, and social platforms. The overall didactic experience provides the students with professional abilities, allowing them to engage in dialogue with the different figures involved in digital media projects.

The course lasts 15 months (from October until December) and is entirely taught in English language.

QUALIFICATION

After passing the final exam, eligible students will obtain a Master’s Degree from IULM and SPD. The Master corresponds to 60 ECTS credits.

ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Founded in Milan in 1954, SPD Scuola Politecnica di Design is the first postgraduate school for design disciplines in Italy. Situated in Milan, the capital of design, Scuola Politecnica di Design pioneered design education thanks to its solid grounding and to its peculiar approach integrating different domains: ergonomics, art, perception studies, semiotics.

Today, SPD is an international laboratory for the exchange of ideas, experience and creativity in order to develop projects. Since its foundation the school has welcomed an extraordinary community of students from various countries and backgrounds.

All courses are taught in a personalized and small learning environment promoting easy contact with the faculty and the staff. Indeed, at SPD every student is followed individually by a faculty formed by designers, professionals from different fields and visiting tutors.

The masters programs offered by SPD are organized in collaboration with IULM University, and award academic degrees recognized by the Italian Ministry of Education, The University and Research MIUR, corresponding to 60 credits under the ECTS system.

The teaching method at Scuola Politecnica di Design is arranged into intensive workshops, studio classes, theoretical lectures, seminars and visits. Research work is carried out in collaboration with leading companies such as Volkswagen, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Heineken, IKEA, Artemide and Poltrona Frau Group among the others.

These projects are deveopped according to an interdisciplinary approach which is a testing ground for the student’s skills, from the concept idea to its execution.

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The course offers an industry focused postgraduate experience, that hybrids digital design practices with strategic communication and brand management to capture, control, and visualise complex data and to make strategic decisions in an ever connected society that is rapidly becoming aware of the impacts and new digital economy.

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About the course

What is digital service design? It’s the art of building customer experiences with a strong digital element.

This new multi-disciplinary course is designed to help graduates develop cutting-edge user experience design techniques for designing digital products and services. The course features close integration with leading digital companies to help you develop deep knowledge of both design theory and practice as well as to equip you for employment in the digital sector.

The course has been designed in collaboration with Wilson Fletcher, a leading digital design studio, to closely mirror current professional practices. In the course, you will have the opportunity to apply for an industry internship at the end of your third term. Additionally, some of our digital design partners may also offer dissertation opportunities.

Aims

Brunel’s MSc course in Digital Service Design prepares you for roles in the fast-growing digital industry by providing a programme led by industry experts and practitioners.

By the end of the course you will be able to:

Generate ideas and turn them into viable concepts and working prototypes.
Work in multidisciplinary teams in a studio setting and take responsibility for your work.
Problem-solve and design for both user and business needs.
Understand the skills, tools and methodologies necessary to develop compelling strategies, products and services.
Design and develop experiences, products and services of high quality with digital media at their core.
Demonstrate a critical and practical understanding of the issues relevant to digital service design and their use in the context of modern industry and commercial environments.
Have a thorough and clear understanding of the methodologies and professional skills necessary for effective digital service design in a business environment.
Reflect – critically and in-depth – on relevant aspects of the state-of the art of both the practice and theory of digital service design.

Course Content

Typical Modules:

Digital Design Methodologies
Digital Innovation
Systems Project Management
Digital Service Applications
Research Methods
Data Visualisation
Dissertation

Special Features

Quality internships
You will have the opportunity to apply for an internship with a high-profile company.

As a result of enrolling on this course, you will have the opportunity to form a network of industry contacts which will be invaluable when you enter into the world of employment.

You will work on a number of individual and group practical projects based on real-world briefs.

You will develop the technical, interpersonal, creative and strategic skills needed to succeed in the digital service design industry.

A cutting edge programme
You will explore areas of design and rapid prototyping, innovation methodologies, interview and workshop facilitation, journey mapping, customer research methodologies, project management and how to develop and present actionable recommendations and much more.

Women in Engineering and Computing Programme

Brunel’s Women in Engineering and Computing mentoring scheme provides our female students with invaluable help and support from their industry mentors.

Teaching

You will be taught by our lecturers and practising researchers, through a mixture of lectures, seminars, lab sessions, guest lectures from industry experts, talks and workshops. We will thus be providing you with theory-based teaching that is based on up-to-date research in this exciting area.

Academics and guest lecturers on the course come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have experience working on high-profile projects at companies like Wilson Fletcher, Marks & Spencer, The Telegraph, W12, Virgin Media, BBH, IDEO, Friday, SapientNitro, RBS, Hugo & Cat etc.

Assessment

You will be assessed through a combination of coursework, examination and dissertation. You will also produce a portfolio of evidence for the Digital Design Methodologies module. Examinations are held in May.

Work Placements

This course is focused on employment and students have the opportunity to undertake an internship after they complete their dissertation. Digital design companies potentially offering internships include: Wilson Fletcher, ORM, Hugo & Cat, DDB, Furthermore, BBH, The Guardian, M&S, W12, Friday, UsTwo.

Selected students may also have the opportunity for a company-sponsored dissertation project in term three.

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Over the past few years, career opportunities in the digital media sector have increased dramatically. The interactive media industry is reaching maturity and needs qualified professionals able to offer a diverse range of expertise. This course addresses those needs and is designed to provide you with skills in interactive media content creation, interactive design, digital media production,social media management, digital media project and account management. In the most recent (2014-15) Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey, 100% of graduates from this course were in work or further study within six months.

More about this course

This professionally-oriented course will appeal to graduates with an interest in digital media, experienced professionals from the design, media, public relations and marketing sector wishing to retrain for a career change or promotion, and those wishing to progress towards research and PhD studies. The Masters in Digital Media addresses issues in interactive design, interactive media, the internet and its applications, digital solutions for the industry and the public sector, usability design, effective digital media project management, digital audiences and audience research, social media management, digital media strategy, digital interactive television, mobile communications, and new media ownership. The course will provide skills in the relevant multimedia software.

You will learn how to:
-Assess and select the appropriate tools to produce a digital media project
-Produce digital media projects using the appropriate software applications
-Research and analyse the current issues and future developments in digital media, social media, media communications and e-solutions
-Manage digital media projects and production teams
-Produce digital media and social media strategies
-Appreciate the complexity of the international digital media and creative industries and communicate effectively in a media professional environment
-Apply research, design and management skills to the production of new media projects

Assessment methods include interactive projects, design portfolios, presentations, essays, examinations and reports.

Modular structure

The modules listed below are for the academic year 2016/17 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.

Year 1 modules include:
-Digital Media Project Management (core, 20 credits)
-Principles of Digital Media (core, 20 credits)
-Digital Media Dissertation (alternative core, 60 credits)
-Digital Project (alternative core, 60 credits)
-Accredited Work-Based Learning in the School of MCC (option, 20 credits)
-Advanced English for Masters Studies (option, 20 credits)
-Digital Media Strategy and Consultancy (option, 20 credits)
-Digital Storytelling (option, 20 credits)
-Digital Video Production (option, 20 credits)
-Globalisation (option, 20 credits)
-Interaction Design (option, 20 credits)
-Multimedia Journalism (option, 20 credits)
-Web Design (option, 20 credits)

After the course

The course is particularly suited to students looking to work in: web design; UX design, interactive media production; digital video production; new media project management and account handling; consultancy and policy advice in the area of digital media and communication technology; social media management; digital media strategy, training and research in related fields; electronic publishing; online journalism and broadcasting; administration, management and research in digital media, digital advertising and marketing and digital information industries.

Moving to one campus

Between 2016 and 2020 we're investing £125 million in the London Metropolitan University campus, moving all of our activity to our current Holloway campus in Islington, north London. This will mean the teaching location of some courses will change over time.

Whether you will be affected will depend on the duration of your course, when you start and your mode of study. The earliest moves affecting new students will be in September 2017. This may mean you begin your course at one location, but over the duration of the course you are relocated to one of our other campuses. Our intention is that no full-time student will change campus more than once during a course of typical duration.

All students will benefit from our move to one campus, which will allow us to develop state-of-the-art facilities, flexible teaching areas and stunning social spaces.

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Study interaction design at an advanced level and explore new approaches to design creating dynamic proposals that respond to the needs of our rapidly changing society.

At Sheffield Institute of Arts interaction design is cross-disciplinary and investigates human-technological futures via design related interactions that lie between the digital and the physical. Using a practice based approach you explore the designing of interactive digital products, environments services and systems.

Interaction design is most often studied by graduates from a variety of backgrounds including • interaction design • digital media • fine art • product design • graphic design • furniture design • architecture • computer science. Your projects are supported by lecturers who are design specialists, researchers and practitioners. Modules are supported by lecturers who are design specialists in areas as diverse as • exhibition design • HCI • medical products • materials development • design thinking • social design • design anthropology.

During the course you work with experts in other departments as well as outside of the University.

As a postgraduate design student you join an established network of creative people that encourage and support you to drive your studies to the next level. Our postgraduate framework of design courses has been designed to allow you to come together with students from different disciplines, backgrounds and cultures to share teaching and learning experiences and explore your creative identities through dialogue and practice.

The primary intention of the programme is to allow you to achieve your personal employment ambitions, whether as a design professional in the creative industries, or in related areas such as marketing or research. You are also well placed to go onto further study at PhD level.

Employability

The course has a strong vocational focus to prepare, encourage and develop your confidence for employment.

The MA/MFA programme has a strong relationship with the University’s Art and Design Research Centre (ADRC), who take an active part in engaging MA Design students in research, knowledge transfer and live projects. You are also encouraged to seek industrial sponsors or collaborators for your individual project work and are given advice and support in doing this. This long established link with our Research Department supports a continuing tradition of graduates from the MA/MFA working as research assistants and/or continuing their studies to PhD.

If you are a part-time student in relevant employment or on sabbatical, you have the opportunity to plan course projects based in your workplace and relevant to your own and your employer's aims. This brings real-world experience to the course. You may go on to work as a professionally employed designer or design manager, work independently as a designer/producer or work as a researcher in design or new product development. You may also wish to go into teaching design in further and higher education.

Project-based course

You choose your own project content and this is supported by lectures and seminars dealing with professional practice issues and reviewing your progress. You also take part in regular group and individual tutorials.

Your final major project is the culmination of your research and studio-based design practice. It demonstrates that you can deal with difficult contemporary questions and take a leading role as a design professional.

Research-led expertise

We are one of the oldest established art and design institutions in the UK, renowned for producing internationally recognised research. Your projects are supported by lecturers who are design specialists in areas as diverse as medical products, materials development, furniture and sustainability.

Vibrant and supportive learning environment

During the course you regularly take part in constructive critical debates about your own work and that of your peers. You need to communicate your research, ideas and designs in ways that are appropriate to professional leadership.

You study alongside MA and MFA Design students for part of your course and benefit from a vibrant, international, collaborative and supportive postgraduate environment.

Excellent facilities and creative resources

You have access to a huge range of creative resources to experiment and engage with including • 3D printing for rapid prototyping • state-of-the-art hardware and software • photography studios • a creative media centre • a gallery • well-equipped workshops.

You also have access to our award-winning learning centre featuring a specialist art, design and media library and extensive online resources.

MA and MFA study

MA and MFA students complete the same modules during the course except that MFA students complete an extra project module. The MFA project encourages you to develop professional skills that help you to identify, instigate, and deliver projects with external partners, such as communities, galleries or businesses. You find a project partner, agree a brief and then deliver the project to a professional standard.

This course is part of the Sheffield Institute of Arts (SIA), an amazing, diverse community of makers – where staff, students and partners work as equals to deliver real innovation and creativity. SIA opened in 1843 and is one of the UK's oldest Art and Design Schools. We have recently moved into the Head Post Office, a redesigned Grade II listed building. It includes state-of-the-art workshops which provide you with a unique studio-based learning environment in the heart of the creative community.

Course structure

FULL-TIME STRUCTURE

Semester one

• project 1 • theory supporting practice

Semester two

• project 2 • negotiated project

Semester three

• major project

Semester four – MFA students only

• MFA project

PART-TIME STRUCTURE

Semester one (year 1)

• theory supporting practice • negotiated project

Semester two (year 2)

• project 1 • project 2

Semester three (year 3)

• major project

Semester four – MFA students only (year 4)

• MFA project

Assessment

Assessment and feedback are vital parts of the learning process in creative disciplines. Most assessment is through individual project work which combines research and creative practice. Assessment calls for both excellent creative work and well-documented research. 

Employability

As a graduate from this course you might become a • creative technologist • experiential marketer • interaction designer • artist • designer • maker • product designer • design researcher • interface designer • systems designer • UX designer • design academic • PhD student.

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Why take this course?

As a Data Visualisation Designer you can contribute innovative solutions with the potential to transform societal challenges, by designing the human interface to increasingly complex problems.

On this course, you will learn how to create rich and meaningful stories with data. We will study digital content in any mode, whether it is in alphanumeric form, binary, vector, pixel, video, or others. The designer provides an important interface, that allows us to explore data and generates meaningful communication. This communication is predominantly visual, but with developments in Wearables and the Internet of Things, is also becoming increasingly physical, affective, networked and interactive. Data Visualisation Design spans traditional graphic and information design, interaction design, information architecture, computational design, design thinking and user-centred and user experience design.

What will I experience?

On this course you can:

Learn the theory and practice of data visualisation, data, interface/interaction design and user experience, and apply this to your own design
Critically question the role of data related to the social, political, economic and cultural through contextual research
Explore live data sets from real world scenarios, such as industry or charities like the digital humanitarian network
Develop independent research and project ideas to create innovative, forward thinking design solutions and experiences for a digital and data driven world

What opportunities might it lead to?

The course will prepare you to work in the design disciplines of the creative industries, with a focus on data visualisation, information design, computational design, digital content, interactivity and user experience. Data Visualisation designers are in demand in sectors including business, research, health, education, government/public service, the arts.

The skills gained on this course can also be applied to employment in UI (user interface) design, or focus on interaction as a UX (User experience) designer. The critical and contextual outlook allows you to position yourself as a strategist and operate in a consultative manner. The research aspect of the course would also suit a career in compulsory, further and higher education.

Careers include:

Data Visualisation Design
Information Design
Digital Graphic Design
UI (user interface) / UX (user experience) design
Interaction design

Module Details

The course is offered over one year (full-time) or two years (part-time).

You will study five units, one of which is shared with other MA courses in the School of Art and Design. There will be preparatory units delivering a grounding in practical skills, theoretical context and academic research (competencies and skills). You will also study units that allow more thematic engagement with interactive and data driven design in terms of theory such as critical design, affordances, experience and complexity. It will also provide a unit oriented towards employability, and incorporate live briefs and group work. These units work to catalyse your own ideas and research direction for the Major Project unit.

Core units currently comprise:

A Question of Research
Fundamentals of Data and Interaction Design
Digital Futures – Themes and Issues in Practice
Design Solutions for Enterprise, Society and Culture
Major Project

Programme Details

The teaching combines interactive lectures and group seminar discussions with support through one-to-one tutorials. You also receive feedback on your work through friendly but critical peer review in group sessions with other students, members of faculty and other experts as appropriate. One of the units includes working as a team. Your project work emphasises self-initiated learning which gives you the freedom to explore the specialist area of your interest, while being helpfully guided by your supervisor. The curriculum is very closely related to the research areas in the department, so the staff have cutting edge knowledge of the field and its potential for innovation.

Your learning is mostly assessed through the submission of practical course work, such as digital prototypes, and the documentation of the learning journey in sketchbooks, diaries, blogs or journals.

This will be documenting contextual research as well as stages in practical experimentation and annotation of reflection. There are some written elements to be submitted as well, mostly accompanying proposals/reports to contextualise your practice. The assessment also includes individual and group presentations, this mode is also used to give you formative feedback on your work throughout.

Here's how we assess your work:

Digital artefacts / prototypes
Learning journals
Proposals
Reports
Oral presentation

Student Destinations

This course is an opportunity to focus your creative design practice on the interactive, data driven, user centred and culturally contextualised. It also enhances your design career by upgrading your skills and widening your knowledge and thinking in the digital arena, allowing you to stay one step ahead of the rest. The independent research aspect of the course prepares you for further education in terms of a research degree and employment in R&D and/or education.

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The Master of Design programme provide the opportunity for you to develop creative thinking and innovative strategies through an advanced understanding of the practical application of design thinking and design strategy that can be applied in a global context.

Service Design is a relatively new discipline that has emerged in the UK simultaneously with an increase in the service sector of the economy and the development of services which require innovative approaches to design, development and delivery in public, private and civil society organisations. Through the use of a specific set of methods and processes based on design thinking, Service Design aims to develop services that are useful and desirable for customers/stakeholders and profitable and efficient for the provider.

The course will provide you with the opportunity to develop and use design thinking as a device for modelling multi-faceted service experiences. In particular this requires the ability to design user research, to facilitate development workshops, and to project manage a process when initially outcomes are unknown. A detailed understanding of the management of design and innovation in service organisations is gained through case studies and project based learning. You are introduced to a range of concepts in Service Design such as co-design, user-driven innovation and social innovation. You are also encouraged to develop your own approaches and to respond to emerging industry practices.

You will benefit from staff research interests in methodology and in user experience design strategies. You may also have the opportunity to participate in one of Ravensbourne’s regular industry development projects with a strong service design dimension.

Study units

Stage One: developing a knowledge base and new reference points - introduces the learner to a range of theories and practices in the strategic use of design and innovation, with a particular focus on the method of design thinking in the global context and how it relates to Service Design. Emphasis is also placed on beginning to develop an innovation and leadership toolkit of skills and techniques.

- Unit 1: Cultural and Contextual Design Studies
- Unit 2: Practical Application of Design Thinking in Service Design
- Unit 3: Managing Design in a Global Society and Economy

Stage Two: putting new learning into a professional context - builds on the practical application of design thinking with a focus on innovation and industry oriented professional practice

Teaching and learning methods in this term are reflective of real world practices ensuring that participants are well versed in new service/product design methods, blueprinting, modelling, brand guardianship, consumer marketing and routes to market.

- Unit 4: Professional Practice in Management and Consulting
- Unit 5: Strategic Design and Innovation
- Unit 6: Studio Practice

Stage Three: evaluating and advancing existing knowledge

- Unit 7: Major Project.

Course aims:

- To encourage a human centred approach to design.
- To demonstrate that real innovation comes from gaining a deep understanding of the interaction between service providers and end users, their wants needs, participation and potential for co-creation.

Programme Aims of the Master of Design

The Master of Design programme aims to provide the opportunity for you to develop creative thinking and innovative strategies through an advanced understanding of the practical application of design thinking and design strategy to management and organisational leadership, in order to equip you with the knowledge and skills to apply your learning in a global context. In particular, this programme aims:

- To equip you with an advanced knowledge and understanding of the contextual background to, and developments in design thinking and to reflect on that learning in order to advance your own practice and subject area and to innovate.

- To develop effective managers and leaders with effective design management skills who through creativity and global awareness are able to influence and create positive change in their organisations whether at an operational or a strategic level.

- To equip you with independent study skills that support research, practice and professional development and allow you to continue developing as life-long learners throughout their professional lives maintaining contact with emerging practice from a variety of fields.

- To provide a stimulating environment, which is supportive, flexible and collaborative and allows you to develop your potential.

- To develop a high level of professionalism and confidence to initiate and lead complex design projects involving diverse disciplines and business functions.

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MSc Architecture is a specialised programme designed to develop digital design and practical manufacturing skills. It builds on the ethos of rigorous and directed design studio tuition of LSBU’s established RIBA part 1 and 2 degrees. It also emphasises the value of detailed and analytical research and the expression of this through structured extended writing.

You’ll extend your understanding of advanced architectural design and progressive contextual urbanism through studio- and workshop-based projects. Tutorials in the design studio and analogue and digital workshops, as well as instruction in advanced design software, will help you define and enhance your personal response to architectural challenges.

The course connects 2D and 3D representations (drawing and physical modelling) with an understanding of digital fabrication and manufacturing, and you’ll have the opportunity to develop and make architectural components using the onsite facilities of the DARLAB(Digital Architecture and Robotic Lab).

You’ll also consider architectural history and theory, and evaluate this to develop your own position in the form of an extended written project on a subject of your choice. For your final design project you'll develop a proposition for a complex building or buildings, drawing together all your learning to highlight the relationships between theory, design and technology.

Modules

Advanced digital design techniques
Integrative technologies: robotic manufacturing
Design 1: research
History and theory: critical thinking
Architecture and theory: dissertation
Technology: technical thesis
Design 2: synthesis

Assessment

All design modules are subject to continuous assessment:

• Design tutors monitor design scheme proposals throughout the semester, and collectively moderate assessments at each semester’s end;
• Individual feedback on design project proposals is provided at every individual studio tutorial;
• An evaluative, critical summary of design projects is provided at all final presentations

Provisional grades are given at the end of semester 1, with all students offered opportunities to review, revise, and add to their design
project submissions:

• A written and illustrated project report examining aspects of environmental technology;
• A major extended written and illustrated assignment (dissertation) on a subject of personal interest related to architecture, and using primary and secondary sources;
• Workshop-based fabrication and design projects;
• A written and illustrated technology report examining aspects of the constructional, environmental, and material implications of the major design project.

Teaching and learning

Teaching takes place in our dedicated Masters level studios, and makes use of LSBU’s specialist workshops; the Digital Architecture Robotic Laboratory, and Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Buildings.

You'll learn in a variety of formats including structured lecture programmes, 1:1 tutorials, small and large group seminars, and interim and final design juries with tutors and invited guests present.

Timetable

Typically each module involves 40 contact hours, and 160 self-managed learning hours; exceptionally, 'Design 2: synthesis' involves 80 contact hours, and 320 self-managed learning hours.

Professional links

The course has been developed in consultation with employers interested in upskilling their workforce with enhanced digital design and manufacturing skills. The course has strong links with the Royal Institute of British Architects, Architects Registration Board, and South London Society of Architects, plus numerous local, regional, and national practices.

Employability

Digital design and practical manufacturing skills are applicable to, and sought after in a very broad range of employment opportunities in architecture and other design-related activities, including visualisation, gaming, animation, media, production engineering, and industrial design.
The course is not intended to lead to a professional qualification, although it reflects the criteria and graduate attributes used by RIBA to deliver their validation services to programmes in architecture.
Curriculum developed to reflect (but not meet) professional and statutory body requirements.

LSBU Employability Services

LSBU is committed to supporting you develop your employability and succeed in getting a job after you have graduated. Your qualification will certainly help, but in a competitive market you also need to work on your employability, and on your career search. Our Employability Service will support you in developing your skills, finding a job, interview techniques, work experience or an internship, and will help you assess what you need to do to get the job you want at the end of your course. LSBU offers a comprehensive Employability Service, with a range of initiatives to complement your studies, including:

• Direct engagement from employers who come in to interview and talk to students
• Job Shop and on-campus recruitment agencies to help your job search
• Mentoring and work shadowing schemes.

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The Masters in Urban Design course combines students' existing strengths with focused design training to produce urban designers capable of managing the complex problems of development, urban space and form.

The certificate and diploma stages of the Masters in Urban Design course introduce theoretical concepts and practical methods of urban design. They will enable you to understand processes of urban design production and consumption, and to develop skills and techniques for communicating three-dimensional urban design.

Why choose this course?

Our graduates have very high success rates in gaining employment and have secured posts in both the public and private sectors, in planning, architecture, landscape and urban design practices; undertaking design, consultancy and research work. Several have also gone on to take up senior posts in universities in the UK and abroad. This is the longest established programme of study in urban design in the UK, and consequently has a vast network of graduates across the globe.

Staff are engaged in world-leading research (69% either world leading or internationally excellent in REF 2014) which feeds directly into the teaching and studio work. A major strength of the course is its multidisciplinary, collegiate, team-based approach to project work and presentation.

Based in Oxford, we are well located for access to both this historic city, to London and other urban centres in the UK.

This course in detail

The Masters in Urban Design is offered as a linked PGCert/PGDip/MA. The aim of the PGCert and PGDip stages is to provide a framework of current knowledge and skills in urban design and masterplanning.

The PGCert stage of the course focuses on the basic concepts and theory of urban design, establishing a solid grounding in the practical realisation of design qualities in a case site situation.

The PGDip stage increases the emphasis placed on the application of more specific design skills in differing contexts, through live projects and a more in-depth examination of design history. Theory and new research are provided through a series of history and theory lectures and seminars.

The aim of the MA stage is to provide an opportunity for developing urban design research skills through individually selected topics in theoretical and practical fields of study in urban design.

The MA dissertation gives students the opportunity to explore in depth a subject related to urban design, and to integrate the various elements of the course. Past topics for the MA include local identity, transport and design, public art and urban design, urban coding, environmental design, digital cities, and eco-towns.

The course is structured around nine modules.

Please note: as courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the module lists you choose from may vary from the ones shown here.

The PGCert stage of the course consists of the following compulsory modules and is worth 60 level 7 credits:
-Urban Design Studio I
-Urban Design Theory I
-Urban Design Practice I and II
-Urban Design Studio II

The PGDip stage of the course consists of the following compulsory modules and is worth 120 level 7 credits:
-Urban Design Theory II
-Urban Design Issues II
-Urban Design Development Seminars
-Research Methods in Design

The MA stage of the course consists of the following compulsory module:
-Master's Dissertation

Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning methods reflect the wide variety of topics and techniques associated with urban design in practice.

Lectures provide the framework, essential background and knowledge base for the course, while you are encouraged to probe deeper into different topics by further reading and review.

Analysis, synthesis and application of material introduced in lectures are demonstrated through studio sessions, workshops, seminars and practical project work. Site visits and a fieldwork component are an important component.

Careers and professional development

Our graduates have very high success rates in gaining employment and have secured posts in the public sector, private consultancy, the voluntary sector, and research and teaching areas.

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The Design Management course provides the opportunity for you to develop an advanced understanding of the practical application of design thinking and design strategy applied within an organisational, business and global context.

In the corporate world design managers oversee the development of products and services and manage the innovation process workflow. However, they also have a significant strategic role in managing the articulation of a business strategy, product and service values, requiring continuous improvement of the customer experience and often involving the management of external specialists. Additionally, they may be engaged in broader organisational development issues.

Students studying Design Management Innovation will focus on design thinking, research methods and the development of management, leadership and change management skills. In addition to operational management they will also focus on design thinking approaches to organisational change, behavioural change and transformation programmes.

The MDes Design Management Innovation draws on current Ravensbourne research. This includes rapid prototyping (an increasingly important operational aspect of the design process); business start up; team building and team dynamics; and the more strategic area of new business model development.

You will work regularly with peers from different disciplines to develop interdisciplinary skills and develop your own approach to design leadership, management and innovation. Major emphasis is placed on developing your own specialist subject in order to create original solutions to social challenges, consumer behaviour, organisational and leadership issues. You will be encouraged to engage proactively in the wide range of activities and events and in the opportunities for cross-disciplinary learning offered at Ravensbourne. Of particular importance is industry engagement through live project briefs and work placements.

Course aims

- To understand the role of design management as a business discipline balancing both leadership roles in terms of innovation, the creation of vision and future directions and management roles in terms of using specific tools, methods and techniques.
- To approach leadership, organisational and enterprise development from the perspective of design thinking and creative innovation.

Study units

Stage One: developing a knowledge base and new reference points - introduces you to a range of theories and practices in the strategic use of design and innovation, with a particular focus on the method of design thinking in the global context and how it relates to design management.

- Unit 1: Cultural and Contextual Design Studies
- Unit 2: Practical Application of Design Thinking in Design Management
- Unit 3: Managing Design in a Global Society and Economy

Stage Two: putting new learning into a professional context – develops the practical application of design thinking with a focus on innovation and industry-oriented professional practice based on design management. It also extends your innovation and leadership toolkit.

- Unit 4: Professional Practice in Management and Consulting
- Unit 5: Strategic Design and Innovation
- Unit 6: Studio Practice

Stage Three: evaluating and advancing existing knowledge

Unit 7: Major Project.

Programme Aims of the Master of Design

The Master of Design programme aims to provide the opportunity for you to develop creative thinking and innovative strategies through an advanced understanding of the practical application of design thinking and design strategy to management and organisational leadership, in order to equip you with the knowledge and skills to apply your learning in a global context. In particular, this programme aims:

- To equip you with an advanced knowledge and understanding of the contextual background to, and developments in design thinking and to reflect on that learning in order to advance your own practice and subject area and to innovate.

- To develop effective managers and leaders with effective design management skills who through creativity and global awareness are able to influence and create positive change in their organisations whether at an operational or a strategic level.

- To equip you with independent study skills that support research, practice and professional development and allow you to continue developing as life-long learners throughout their professional lives maintaining contact with emerging practice from a variety of fields.

- To provide a stimulating environment, which is supportive, flexible and collaborative and allows you to develop your potential.

- To develop a high level of professionalism and confidence to initiate and lead complex design projects involving diverse disciplines and business functions.

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Introduction

MA Interaction Design Communication is a practice-led design course that prepares students to design for an increasingly technologically informed and interdisciplinary design world with skills in the following areas: interaction design, design prototyping, physical computing, user centered design, open source digital platforms, design research, foresight and insight, experience design, communication design, speculative and critical design, interactive design and digital arts.

Content

MA Interaction Design Communication provides an opportunity for experimental practice in an area of design that increasingly explores the intersection of the physical and digital domains. With a focus on synthesising thought through rigorous design prototyping (making), digital processes and user perspectives, the course is highly reflective of interdisciplinary practice within the contemporary design, media and communications industries.

The integrated approach of the course to critical thinking provides you with the opportunity to work with critical ideas in an applied design context – for example psycho-geographic practice as empirical research or engaging with other critical theories of space to generate user perspectives. This ensures that ideation processes take on both the macro as well as micro opportunities for innovation and speculation crucial to building a portfolio of highly engaged work.

As well as placing you in a position to work across the board spectrum of interaction, design and communication the course is just as interested in design questions as design answers. This means that the course also prepares you for progression to further design research at MPhil/PhD level as well as to advanced self-directed experimental practice.

LCC has an outstanding team of practitioners and published researchers and enjoys a powerful programme of visiting speakers. The course also benefits from a cross-European collaboration with design industry professionals and higher education institutions and there is an opportunity to visit at least one other centre in Europe during the course.

Structure

Phase 1

1.1 Theories and Technologies of Interaction Design (40 credits)
1.2 Research Practice and Human Centered Design (20 credits)

Phase 2

2.1 Interaction Futures and Speculative Design (40 credits)
2.2 Physical Computing and Design Prototyping (20 credits)

Phase 3

Unit 3.1 Final Major Research Project

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With increasing traffic density of civil aircraft, and the need for increased military precision in conflicts around the world, safer aircraft operations require more sophisticated avionic systems.

This specialist option of the MSc Aerospace Vehicle Design (http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/courses/taught/aerospace-vehicle-design) provides you with an understanding of avionic systems design, analysis, development, test and airframe integration.

Who is it for?

This course is suitable for students with a background in aeronautical or mechanical engineering or those with relevant industrial experience. It provides a taught engineering programme with a focus on the technical, business and management aspects of aircraft design in the civil and military aerospace sectors.

Why this course?

The Avionic Systems Design option aims to provide an understanding of avionic systems design, analysis, development, test and airframe integration. This includes a detailed look at robust and fault-tolerant flight control, advanced 4D flight management and RNP navigation, self-separation and collision avoidance and advanced digital data communications systems, as well as pilot-friendly and intelligent cockpit displays and situation awareness.

We have been at the forefront of postgraduate education in aerospace engineering since 1946. Aerospace Vehicle Design at Cranfield University was one of the original foundation courses of the College of Aeronautics. Graduates of this course are eligible to join the Cranfield College of Aeronautics Alumni Association (CCAAA), an active community which hold a number of networking and social events throughout the year.

Cranfield University is well located for students from all over the world, and offers a range of library and support facilities to support your studies. This enables students from all over the world to complete this qualification whilst balancing work/life commitments.

Informed by Industry

The course has an Industrial Advisory Committee with senior members from major UK aerospace companies, government bodies, and the military services. The committee meets twice a year to review and advise on course content, acquisition skills and other attributes are desirable from graduates of the course. Panel members include:

- BAE Systems
- Airbus
- Royal Air Force
- Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
- Royal Australian Air Force
- Messier-Dowty
- Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces.

We also arrange visits to sites such as BAE Systems, Thales, GKN and RAF bases which specialise in the maintenance of military aircraft. This allows you to get up close to the aircraft and components to help with ideas for the group project

Accreditation

Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) - http://aerosociety.com/
Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) - http://www.imeche.org/

Course details

This option is comprised of 14 compulsory modules and a minimum of 60 hours of optional modules, selected from a list of 10 options. You are also required to complete a group design project and an individual research project. Delivered via a combination of structured lectures, industry guest lectures, computer based workshops and private study.

A unique feature of the course is that we have four external examiners; two from industry who assess the group design project and two from academia who assess the individual research project.

Group project

The extensive group design project is a distinctive and unique feature of this course. This teamwork project takes place over six months, usually between October and March; and recreates a virtual industrial environment bringing together students with various experience levels and different nationalities into one integrated design team.

You will be given responsibility for the detailed design of a significant part of the aircraft, for example, forward fuselage, fuel system, or navigation system. The project will progress from the conceptual phase through to the preliminary and detail design phases. You are required to run project meetings, produce engineering drawings and detailed analyses of their design. Problem solving and project coordination must be undertaken on a team and individual basis. At the end of the project, groups are required to report and present findings to a panel of 200 senior engineers from industry.

This element of the course is both real and engaging, and places the student group in a professional role as aerospace design engineers. Students testify that working as an integrated team on real problems is invaluable and prepares them well for careers in a highly competitive industry.

Watch past presentation YouTube videos to give you a taster of our innovative and exciting group projects:

- Blended Wing Body Aircraft - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfD0CIAscOI
- A9 Dragonfly Box Wing Aircraft - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4LQzXBJInw
- MRT7 Tanker Aircraft - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNfQM2ELXvg
- A-13 Voyager - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS6Wq7lpmDw
- SL-12 Vimana - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjEEazsVtSc

Individual project

The individual research project aims to provide the training necessary for you to apply knowledge from the taught element to research, and takes place over six months. The project may be theoretical and/or experimental and drawn from a range of topics related to the course and suggested by teaching staff, your employer or focused on your own area of interest.

Assessment

Taught modules 10%, Group project 50%, Individual research project 40%

Your career

The Avionic Systems Design option is valued and respected by employers worldwide. The applied nature of this course ensures that our graduates are ready to be of immediate use to their future employer and has provided sufficient breadth of understanding of multi-discipline design to position them for accelerated career progression.

This course prepares graduates for careers as project design engineers, systems design, structural design or avionic engineers in aerospace or related industries, with the aim of progressing to technical management/chief engineer. Graduates from the MSc in Avionic Systems Design can therefore look forward to a varied choice of challenging career opportunities in the above disciplines.

Many of our graduates occupy very senior positions in their organisations, making valuable contributions to the international aerospace industry. Typical student destinations include BAE Systems, Airbus, Dassault and Rolls-Royce plc

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The new master’s programme in Design offers a studio-based, interdisciplinary approach to design, with collaborations tackling societal challenges.

This programme incorporates established and innovative design concepts in a unique interdisciplinary setup. Studio courses form the backbone of the programme, providing the fundamentals of working with societal challenges. The challenges are defined on a yearly basis, ranging from Food Waste and Civility to Nomadic Welfare.

The programme features three design tracks, allowing you to develop your skills within an area of speciality. Current tracks are Sustainable Futures, Transformative Service and Visual Media.

Please be advised that this programme has a multi-campus setup, with courses offered in Linköping and Norrköping as well as online.

Programme Description

The new master’s programme in Design offers a studio-based, interdisciplinary approach to design, with collaborations tackling societal challenges. Established and innovative design concepts are incorporated in a unique interdisciplinary setup across campuses.

Businesses, organisations and government agencies are facing ever more complex challenges that require innovative approaches. Increasingly, the field of design is expected to come up with answers and help achieve progress.

The purpose of this programme is to train qualified and confident designers who can enter these complex contexts, take on a leading role and co-create solid, sustainable solutions. We are reaching out to students with different backgrounds – not necessarily with previous academic design qualifications, but with excellent design abilities and a desire to develop design beyond specific materials and disciplines.

This programme incorporates established and innovative design concepts in a unique interdisciplinary setup. Studio courses form the backbone of the programme, providing the fundamentals of working with societal challenges. The challenges are defined on a yearly basis, ranging from Food Waste and Civility to Nomadic Welfare.

Theoretical courses and design projects run alongside studio work. You develop generic design skills and knowledge of design facilitation, co-creative practices and design history. You learn about designing and change and how to make design a strategic practice that is embedded in organisations.

Projects are carried out in mixed-competence groups, sometimes with students from other programmes, across campuses with blended learning, using physical and digital resources. You interact with companies, organisations and entrepreneurs.

Elective courses are structured into tracks allowing you to develop skills within an area of speciality.

Current tracks offered are:

Sustainable Futures
Design of sustainable systems, with accompanying business models, products and services. Project-based exploration of future solutions that may further a transition to a sustainable society and empower people interacting with those systems.

Transformative Service
Design and innovation for the service sector, including welfare and industrial service. Engaging humans at the centre of design projects and developing service concepts and social innovations to facilitate transformation of practices and co-creation of value.

Visual Media
Design of interactive visual environments, going beyond screens and handheld units towards augmented and immersive approaches. Studio-based exploration of advanced concepts at the intersection of graphic design, interaction design and information visualisation.

For your thesis, you are expected to undertake an individual project that comprises practical design work and writing a thesis.

Linköping University is one of Sweden’s leading design research universities, with world-class research into design for services, a state-of-the-art facility for visual media research, and a strong team devoted to design and sustainability.

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