Masters Degrees (Set Design)

The course offers exceptional professional training for the theatre and related industries. It is a one-year full-time course based on practical workshops, seminars and tutorials. The course can also be offered on a part-time two-year basis. This innovative course is taught in the newly established The Lir – National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College which is the professional training institution of the School of Drama Film and Music.

Course Details

Full-time and part-time students will take three concurrent modules in the first two terms. The final module (Production Design) will be taught in the third term and subsequent summer months (for full-time students) or in the second year of the course (for part-time students) and will culminate with a professional production staged in one of The Lir’s performance studios. Term Three will be supplemented by an ongoing series of master classes from professional directors and theatre makers. Students on the Master in Fine Art (Stage Design) will take two compulsory modules and choose two of four elective modules. Compulsory Module: Contemporary Theatre Practice, Production Design. Elective modules: Set Design Workshop, Costume Design Workshop, Lighting Design Workshop or Dramaturgy for Stage Design.

Please note that all applicants must include a financial plan in their personal statement which indicates clearly how they intend to finance themselves if successful in gaining a place on this course.

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This Master of Design is new for 2017.

A professionally focused program of advanced study in contemporary design practice, the Master of Design course includes specialisations in interaction design, multimedia design and collaborative design.

You can also take a range of units from across these three to construct an advanced studies in design specialisation. This program is ideal for those keen to enter the expanding fields of professional design engagement, or design practitioners aiming to upgrade their expertise. You’ll be trained in advanced design thinking and processes that’ll equip you to create design solutions that engage experiential, communication, object and spatial contexts.

Visit the website http://www.study.monash/courses/find-a-course/2017/design-f6002?domestic=true

Overview

Please select a specialisation for more details:

- Advanced studies in design
This pathway allows you to construct, with approval, an individual program of study from across interaction design, multimedia design and collaborative design. This enables you to tailor your unit choices while addressing the fundamental principles of advanced design practice and thinking. It’ll inspire you to connect research and practice across the design disciplines, and to become a thoughtful design practitioner. You’ll broaden your knowledge of key design constructs, deepen your professional learning in design areas of interest, and advance your capacity as a design professional.

- Collaborative design
Collaborative design places you conceptually and practically at the intersection of interior, graphic and industrial design practice. The program will set you design challenges involving image, text, products, narratives, systems, ervices, public and private space, materiality and virtuality. You’ll develop independent conceptual and practical design skills alongside an ability to be part of collaborative design processes. You’ll expand your awareness across design disciplines; develop multidisciplinary design expertise; and build broader skills in leadership, professional adaptability and complex project planning.

- Interaction design
The interaction design specialisation develops your skills in the design of contemporary artefacts, products and services that engage with interactive, user-focused technologies and processes. These can include, but aren’t limited to, health and medical equipment, ‘smart’ furniture, educational toys, wearable technologies, information kiosks and transport systems. You’ll use a diverse range of interactive processes, including the application of advanced technologies; electronics and programming; physical and virtual interface manipulation; engineering and material fabrication; and rapid prototyping. The specialisation gives you an understanding of the relationship between interactive activities, products and human behaviour.

- Multimedia design
Multimedia design develops your skills in digital communication environments. This includes: designing for the web; motion and animation; and interactive touchscreen devices and surfaces. Emphasising an advanced knowledge of existing and emerging digital design processes and systems, this specialisation embraces projects of varied scale, from hand-held smart devices to large public interactive screens. It develops your ability to build a communication narrative; use multimedia processes to fill community and business needs; and understand the end-user’s engagement with projects or products such as websites, apps and other screen-based media.

Course Structure

The course comprises 96 points structured into 3 parts:

Part A. Preparatory Studies for Advanced Design (24 points), Part B. Advanced Design Studies (24 points), and Part C. Advanced Design Applications (48 points).

- Students admitted at Entry level 1 complete 96 points, comprising Part A, B & C
- Students admitted at Entry level 2 complete 72 points, comprising Part B & C
- Students admitted at Entry level 3 complete 48 points, comprising Part C

Note: Students eligible for credit for prior studies may elect not to receive the credit and complete one of the higher credit-point options. A zero credit point unit in Art, Design and Architecture Occupational Health and Safety will also be undertaken. This unit is required of all students in the Master of Design and must be undertaken even if credit is obtained for Parts A or B.

Part A: Preparatory studies for advanced design
These studies provide you with the conceptual thinking and technical skill set required for advanced postgraduate study in this area. The studio unit brings together conceptual and technical abilities developed in the other two units.

Part B: Advanced design studies
In these studies you will focus on the application of conceptual thinking and technical skills to advanced design problem solving. You will analyse and create a project outcome based on research, critique, and the application of design processes appropriate to your specialisation. You will also choose a selective unit that will further build capacity in your chosen specialisation.

Part C: Advanced design applications
In these studies you will focus on the application of advanced design problem solving skills at a professional level. You will consolidate skills and practice of design research methodologies and may extend your research trajectory to further study. Part C is also supported by a selective unit to allow you to build capabilities in your chosen specialisation.

In the final semester you will pursue a major design project or participate in a leading industry project. The exegesis unit formalises the research component of Part C. The final semester brings together advanced technical ability, conceptual thinking, entrepreneurial studies and design management in practice.

For more information visit the faculty website - http://www.study.monash/media/links/faculty-websites/design-and-architecture

Find out how to apply here - http://www.study.monash/courses/find-a-course/2017/design-f6002?domestic=true

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This programme is grounded on the belief that architects should be thinking well beyond the constraints of market forces and the traditional disciplinary limits of the profession, towards forms, technology and spaces for a more sustainable future. This is a student-led programme, and you can have very different experiences within it depending on the choices of studios and courses you make.

Why choose this course?

Founded in 1927, the School of Architecture at Oxford Brookes has established an international reputation for the quality of both its research and its teaching. As one of the largest architecture schools in the UK, with around 600 students and 70 staff, it plays a leading role in defining the national, and international, agenda in design education and research. The school enjoys an international reputation in research, in areas ranging from sustainable design to modular buildings and from design for well-being to vernacular architecture.

Staff in the school regularly secure research funding from the UK's research councils and the European Union as well as industry, with an annual research grant income averaging £1m in recent years. This programme provides RIBA/ARB Part 2.

Professional accreditation

Accredited by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Architects Registration Board (ARB).

This course in detail

Year 1 - Research into design
This year has a very strong emphasis on acquiring in-depth knowledge of an architecturally important field of study and utilising that knowledge in design. This is achieved by taking one of the six 'design specialisations'.

You choose which design specialisation is best for you. The specialisations on offer are deliberately highly diverse to cater for the changing nature of the profession in practice. This course produces graduates for the global market and as such requires a high level of commitment from staff and students.

The design specialisations are:
-Advanced Architectural Design
-International Architectural Regeneration and Development
-Development and Emergency Practice
-Sustainable Building: Performance and Design
-Research-led Design
-Urban Design.

Each of the research specialisations offers teaching from experts within that subject area, and links, through teaching focus and staff, to the five research clusters that are an invaluable resource within the School of architecture.

The five research clusters keep the specialisations at the cutting edge in terms of a global agenda. They are, in general terms, environmental design, technology, development and emergency practice, humanities and architectural design.

Each of the design specialisations include a design project or projects, to which you will apply your detailed learning.

In addition to the design specialisation the first year will, through the Research Philosophy for Design module, widen your thinking in terms of what constitutes research, test your critical thinking and improved your analytical abilities. All of these are essential tools and their enhancement will place you in a stronger position to undertake the design studio in the second year.

Your ability to represent your ideas in a coherent and focused manner is the remit for the Representation module. This module will identify your strengths and build up your weaknesses, both in terms of visual and verbal communication methods. You will be able to dedicate time to fine-tuning techniques or building from basics in sketching, model making, 2D and 3D CAD. Your presentation of methods and actual practice will enable you to build confidence in verbal communication skills.

The Management, Practice and Law module in year one looks at the landscapes within which these issues are being informed. This module is taught by practising architects who have first-hand experience of the issues under discussion. Through a series of workshops you will work on topics that are essential to the practice of architecture. Management, practice and law is part of the design delivery of the programme and you will be expected to approach the coursework from a design position. This module asks that you approach this subject with a very different mind-set than the traditional position.

Due to the diverse and preparative basis of this year it is compulsory for all students to pass all compulsory components of the Research into Design year in order to be progress to the Design and Technology year.

Year 2 - Design and technology
This year is structured to enable you to synthesise a broad range of complex cultural, aesthetic, research and technical factors, and design-specialisation learning, into your major design project and portfolio.

The year is spent participating in one of six design studios. All studios have control over their own programme of projects, and each has a different view of architectural culture and promotes different design methods. The design studios are taught by some of the brightest designers and tutors in the country and consequently their programmes demand high levels of creative and intellectual endeavour from you, as well as high levels of productivity. Their aim is to raise your design thinking, skills and production to the highest possible standard.

All six units present their projects for the year in the induction session and you are asked to select all six in order of preference. This system is to allow for an even distribution of students across all six units. Most students are allocated to their first choice of studio although there is no guarantee of a particular design unit - normally at worst you are allocated your second choice.

During the design and technology year, your design work must develop into technically ambitious architecture and be the subject of your compulsory Advanced Technology for Design module. This module designs through technology and fully complements and parallels your work in the design studio. There is a very strong emphasis here upon the creative possibilities for architectural technology. We ask for an open and experimental approach to technology, but also a clear understanding of its context and aims.

The staff delivering the teaching in the design studio unit and the Advanced Technology for Design module are made up from academics and practitioners. This energetic mix will challenge you to think about design and technology in a new manner, building confidence in ability, enabling deep thinking, and aiding you to define a personal design spirit.

Sitting alongside the design and technology is the second Management, Practice and Law module. This module builds on the learning and skills from the first year module and prepares you for stepping back into practice. As in the first year module this is learning is delivered by practicing architects. Through focus groups with architectural practices, this module figures in the skills that are seen as highly desirable for the ARB part 2 graduate to have when seeking employment.

Throughout the two years of the programme there will be interim reviews. This offers an opportunity to receive feedback from outside of your design studio or design specialisation. We have strong links with practice and architectural institutions and can attract the most able people to sit on our reviews.

This is a programme that aims to give you the skills for international practice.

As our courses are reviewed regularly, modules may vary from those listed here.

Teaching and learning

The unique nature of the Applied Design in Architecture offers you the opportunity to select an individual pathway that will create a distinctive graduate profile that is unique to you alone.

The ability to choose modules from within design specialisations offers you the prospect of defining your own position. You will find that you are being taught with, in most cases, direct entry master's students from countries around the world.

This aspect is complemented by the Year 2 design studio where you will engage with a distinctive agenda and experience a diversity of design specialisation thinking from students within your unit.

Self-directed learning is highly supported by staff in the School of Architecture. Personal choice engenders motivation and a high level of commitment, and the programme has been designed to embrace this aspect whilst clearly building on skills, thinking, application and design production to achieve a final portfolio of the highest standard.

Careers and professional development

The modules Management Practice, and Law 1 and 2, include guidance on the necessary professional skills that are required both for ARB Part 2 and for preparation in commencing ARB Part 3. The design studio generates a portfolio of work that not only demonstrates the learning for ARB Part 2 but also written, research and visual skills. The design portfolio is intended as the vehicle for students to synthesise all facets of their learning in order to seek practice employment.

In addition the school maintains a jobs wall that advertises vacancies locally, nationally and internationally.

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Great design ideas can change the world. With human and user-centred design at the heart of this internationally regarded Masters programme, you’ll develop research and practice-based design solutions to respond to a demanding industry and rapidly changing society.

Whether your background is in design or in another discipline, you’ll develop, test and evaluate innovative design solutions in real-life scenarios. You’ll gain first-hand experience of current needs and trends across a range of sectors, and focus on a large-scale design project within one of the specialisms offered (see the ‘Specialisms’ tab).

Taught by diverse staff with internationally recognised profiles in research and practice, you’ll build an interdisciplinary approach to design in a stimulating environment, while being exposed to and involved in cutting-edge research. You’ll gain practical and research skills to prepare you for a wide range of careers.

Specialist facilities

We have plenty of facilities to help you make the most of your time at Leeds. We have an impressive range of resources that you can use to develop your projects.

At the top of our research facilities we have the world’s most sophisticated mobile eye-tracking glasses, which are used to understand how users interact with design (see more information at http://www.tobiipro.com). Other excellent research facilities are our EEG equipment (electroencephalography) to understand how users interact with the world, and our colour analysis/prediction lab.

We also house the M&S Company Archive including documents, advertising, photos, films, clothing and merchandise from throughout Marks & Spencer’s history. ULITA, an archive of international textiles, is also housed on campus and collects, preserves and documents textiles and related areas from around the world. You can make appointments to view items, but it also has an online catalogue where you can explore the major collections.

You’ll also be able to develop your practice in well-equipped studios and purpose-built computer clusters so that you can build your skills on both PC and Mac. There is also a computer-aided design (CAD) suite with access to the latest design software, and some of the latest design technology, such as digital printing, screen printing, 3D printing, and laser cutting.

Course content

In Semester 1 you’ll study a set of compulsory modules that will allow you to develop a range of research, conceptual and practical design skills and tools to lay the foundations for the rest of the programme. You’ll have the chance to learn through case studies, practical exercises and work on briefs encompassing all specialisms offered.

In Semester 2 you’ll have a choice of optional modules that focus on current trends in design practice and research. These optional modules will give you the opportunity to work on live projects from industry and/or live research projects being conducted in the School of Design. You’ll work on group and/or individual projects to explore more specific and advanced skills and tools in your areas of interest.

In Semester 2 you’ll also choose and develop a specialist project in which the tools and skills learnt in Semester 1 are applied. Projects can be developed in a wide range of topics that suit your interests and career ambitions. These include: Branding Design, Digital and Interactive Design, Information Design, Instructional Design, Graphic and Visual Communication Design, Service Design, and Typographic Design.

In Semester 3 you can choose one of two pathways: 1) Continue with your specialist design project, develop it at a professional level and apply it in a real-life context (with suitable users) for evaluation; 2) Produce an independent research dissertation based around a relevant field or topic within the specialisms offered.

Course structure

Compulsory modules

In addition to the compulsory modules listed below, for your final project you will choose to do either: - Design Prototyping and Evaluation (40 credits) or - Design Dissertation (40 credits).

• Digital Design Practice 20 credits
• Research Methods for Design 20 credits
• Design Thinking 20 credits
• Design Principles and Applications 10 credits
• Design Research and Integration 40 credits

Optional modules

You will select two modules from the list of optional modules below.

• Branding Design in Context 15 credits
• Information and Instructional Design 15 credits
• Digital and Interactive Design Solutions 15 credits
• Service Design Innovation 15 credits
• Graphic and Typographic Design 15 credits

For more information on typical modules, read Design MA Full Time in the course catalogue

For more information on typical modules, read Design MA Part Time in the course catalogue

Learning and teaching

You’ll be taught and guided by a diverse team of staff who are leaders in their fields, with a wide variety of research interests and years of experience as design practitioners.

We use a range of teaching and learning methods so you can benefit from their expertise. These may include lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops, group learning and meetings with your tutor or supervisor. However, independent study is crucial to this degree, as it allows you to develop your skills and explore your own ideas.

Assessment

Depending on the modules you choose you’ll be assessed by different methods. They’ll include individual and group projects, project proposals and reports, presentations and reflective reports.

Career opportunities

This programme will equip you with a range of design skills using different media, as well as allowing you to hone your specialist skills in an area of your choice. It will also equip you with advanced skills in research, analysis, teamwork, presentation and communication that will be valuable in a range of careers.

You’ll be well prepared for a career in design practice. You can set up your own freelance business or take up a key position in a design studio, agency or organisation.

You can also work in cross-disciplinary fields applying your design skills to business, marketing, applied psychology, healthcare communication, retail, government, the public or private sector, etc.

Many of our students also choose to continue benefiting from our cutting-edge and frontier research by doing a PhD and following a research and/or academic career.

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About the course

This unique international, multi-disciplinary course will develop design managers and leaders as catalysts for strategic innovation and change.

The programme comprises compulsory modules of theoretical and analytical topics in areas such as innovation, creativity, team-working and leadership. Special features include analytical design exercises, multimedia educational material, research methods, case studies, design audits and international placements.

The aim of the course is to create closer links between design and industry and to widen the horizons of design management students, enabling you to make informed reference to the world beyond design – to users, the market, new technology, economics, politics, law and the global environment.

Aims

All organisations use design, but few master its use strategically. This course provides the skills and knowledge to students wishing to enter this exciting and rewarding field of endeavour.

This innovative course was one of the first Master’s programmes - globally - that sought to explain the relationship between innovation and design and the importance of applying a strategic approach using design thinking, design methods and process.

Today we remain a unique course internationally and attract students from all over the world, from different creative and design backgrounds, both with one purpose…to become masters of design strategy.

By the time you graduate you will be equipped to:

apply thinking, design methods and process to identify opportunities for innovation and drive changes in commercial, public and/or no-for-profit organisations
explore how strategic design could be used to deliver a whole spectrum of innovation ranging from an innovative business model right through to new products/services
show expertise in your chosen specialism in exciting fields, such as social innovation
critically evaluate the relationship of design, creativity, innovation and enabling technologies
demonstrate personal initiative in addressing challenging issues relevant to industry and other organisations and /or the design profession.

Course Content

The balanced combination of critical examination and rigorous academic research and creativity is a unique characteristic of our Design Strategy and Innovation MA programme at Brunel. You will do a three-phase programme:

Phase One modules: Taught Element (September - December)

Strategic Design Management
Branding Strategy Studies
Innovation Strategy and Management
Design Research

Phase Two Modules: Taught/Tutored (January - April)

Design Innovation Futures: Seminar & Workshop Programme
Design Innovation Research Project 1
Design Innovation Research Project 2

Phase Three Module: Student-led (May - August)

Dissertation

Special Features

'Rich Design' - This is a term we use to describe the many extracurricular activities on offer for Design and Branding students at Brunel.

Brazilian week - We host an annual visit from top Brazilian designers, with joint activities organised with Brunel students. It’s an extremely exciting and rewarding experience for both our students and visitors.

Design consultancies - Many design staff at Brunel are practicing design consultants in their own right, and also work closely with several design consultancies, including Design Bridge. an international brand design agency. This has resulted not only in this company participating in Design Futures, but offering student projects, internships and also graduate employment positions.

Eminent speakers - Every year, our ‘Design Futures’ event offers students the chance to use their research to find design-based solutions to issues facing the world. Design Futures also features eminent guest speakers from all aspects of the design profession, who offer their views on the future of design and its role in meeting global challenges.

Industry and professional focus: London is arguably the most important design and creative capital in the world. Brunel Masters plays a key part in this vibrant landscape. Consequently students leave with a realistic and cutting edge set of skills and knowledge. A world renowned consultancy has praised Brunel design graduates for their ability to ‘hit the ground running’ – meaning they start work understanding modern branding and are able to immediately contribute to strategic thinking within a company.

International flavour: Our MA Design courses draw a truly international mix of students, creating a diverse pool of creative talent at Brunel that attracts employers.

Work Placements

Our students have completed placements and design audits with following major companies and corporations: Grange, Wolff DIms, British Airways, Xerox Europe, HSBC Bank, Black and Decker, IDEG and Hasbro UK.

This might explain why many of our alumni now work for some of the world’s leading consultancies including Saffron, New Edge, Design Bridge, Imagination and Seymour Powell, as well as ‘blue-chip’ companies such as Lenovo, Samsung, British Airways, The Virgin Group, Dyson and HSBC amongst others. Some like Brunel so much they elect to stay on with us for a few more years and study design research for their PhD.

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Would you like to improve your career prospects, start your own business or develop further specialist design skills?

Offering the perfect blend of theory and practice in the context of business and society, the MA Design course will enable you to focus on your own specialist area of design practice, in disciplines such as 3D design, fashion communication, fashion design, fashion marketing, graphic design, communication design, service design, interaction design, industrial design, interior design, 3D design and transportation design.

Developed specifically for those with a design background or relevant qualification, you will undertake a series of taught modules to develop your knowledge and practical skills, before competing a final project or thesis around your chosen specialism.

In addition to the taught aspect of this course, you will also have the opportunity to undertake a series of collaborative projects with industry and, where possible, field trips to collaborative companies or exhibitions to further enhance your learning experience.

Learn From The Best

Our academic team is made up of research-active experts with extensive knowledge of the design industry. This knowledge is integrated into all aspects of their teaching to ensure that all content within this course is relevant to the workplace and current and emerging trends.

All staff within this department have a strong commitment to developing your skills and knowledge by developing your critical thinking and your ability to apply your skills to complex real-world problems.

They will be there to support you through every step of your course, ensuring you leave with confidence and full understanding of all aspects of this dynamic industry.

In addition to our teaching staff, you will also have access to specialist communities of practice that will provide the foundation for your learning journey through research networks and cross-organisational collaboration. These communities will focus on strategic innovation, performance products and service design.

Teaching And Assessment

This MA Design course incorporates practice-based learning that is informed by contemporary and contextual influences and founded on your own personal aims and professional direction.

The first two semesters of this course will focus on developing your core skills through the completion of four modules: design thinking, design practice, direction and experimentation.

Teaching is delivered via a mix of lectures, seminars and tutorials, which are assessed by coursework and design projects. You will also undertake collaborative projects and, where possible, field trips to allow you to put your skills into practise in a real-world context.

Upon completion of the taught modules, you will undertake a final project or thesis to demonstrate all of the skills you have acquired on this course. This will be undertaken under the supervision of your dedicated tutor who will provide advice and guidance at all stages.

Module Overview
DE7001 - Design Thinking (Core, 30 Credits)
DE7002 - Design Process (Core, 30 Credits)
DE7003 - Project / Thesis (Core, 60 Credits)
DE7004 - Design Practice 1: Professional Direction (Core, 30 Credits)
DE7005 - Design Practice 2 : Experimentation (Core, 30 Credits)
EF0126 - E.S.A.P. in FADSS Level 7 (Optional, 0 Credits)

Learning Environment

This course is delivered at the Northumbria School of Design, which is located at City Campus East – a dedicated learning space that is located within Newcastle city centre.

Throughout the duration of your course you will have access to state-of-the-art facilities such as our University library – which is ranked in the top three in the UK – and well equipped working space, The Hub, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Your learning experience will be enhanced though the use of technology and learning materials such as module guides, assessment information, lecture presentation slides and reading lists will be available via our innovative e-learning platform, Blackboard. You can also access student support and other key University systems through your personal account.

Research-Rich Learning

The MA Design course is taught by our team of research-active academics who incorporate their individual areas of specialism into the course’s contextual modules to ensure they reflect the realities of the design industry and today’s modern working environment.

The development of your own research skills is at the core of the MA Design course and you will develop research-informed methods of understanding the complexity inherent in real-world situations. These methods will enable you to make better decisions, advance the field of your practice and add new knowledge that will help you perfect your skills in your own particular discipline.

Supported by subject specialists and industry networks, you will also have the opportunity to join an expert-led community of practice in strategic design and innovation, performance product design or service design, as well as engaging with traditional disciplines such as fashion and industrial design.

Give Your Career An Edge

This course will allow you to enhance your practical skills and knowledge in a specialist area of design.

You will work on live industry projects that will enhance your CV and personal development through collaboration with those currently working within this dynamic industry. Some of the recent examples of industry projects include work on oral healthcare with Procter and Gamble, wearable technology projects with the CPI National Centre for Printable Electronics, person-centred healthcare services with the Academic Health Science Network and the development of innovative kitchenware with Lakeland.

You will also develop your business and employability skills, in addition to achieving a master’s level qualification in this discipline.

Your Future

Once you have completed the MA Design course you will possess the skills and ability to make an impact in the design industry, whether you are just starting out in your career or looking to enhance your professional development.

This course will prepare you for broad range of jobs within design companies, private organisations and the public sector, in addition to specialist jobs within your chosen specialism.

Completion may enhance promotion prospects in some professions, in addition to providing enhanced opportunities for management level roles.

This course will also provide you with the knowledge and experience to be able to set up your very own design company, in addition to providing a strong foundation for progression to PhD studies.

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About the course

This MA prepares students from design and other creative disciplines to apply their knowledge and skills in the branding domain.

The course develops your high-level skills and creative thinking, helping you learn how to clearly communicate strategies for successful brand building, futures forecasting and change management.

During the course you will also gain valuable industry insight from design and branding professionals who are part of Brunel’s extensive network of industry contacts. You will complete an individual design project, supported by personal supervision, and complete a final year dissertation on your specialist subject of choice.

Aims

All organisations use design, but few master its use strategically. This course provides the skills and knowledge to students wishing to enter this exciting and rewarding field of endeavour.

We were one of the first Masters programmes, globally, that sought to explain the relationship between branding and design and the importance of applying a strategic approach using design thinking, design methods and process. Today we remain a unique course internationally and attract students from all over the world, from different creative and design backgrounds, both with one purpose - to become masters of design strategy.

By the time you graduate you will be equipped to:

effectively apply design to create and deliver innovative brand propositions
creatively communicate brand values and deliver brand experiencein engaging and meaningful ways through a combination of tangible and intangle design
demonstrate expertise in your chosen specialism in exciting fields, such as branding for the collaborative economy
critically evaluate the roles and potential benefits of design in brand strategies
show personal initiative in addressing challenging issues that are relevant to the design industry.

Course Content

The balanced combination of critical examination and rigorous academic research and creativity is a unique characteristic of Brunel's MA programme. You will do a three-phase programme:

Phase One Modules: Taught Element (September - December)

Strategic Design Management
Branding Strategy Studies
Innovation Strategy and Management
Design Research

Phase Two Modules: Taught/Tutored (January - April)

Design and Branding Futures: Seminar & Workshop Programme
Design and Branding Research Project 1
Design and Branding Research Project 2

Phase Three Module: Student-led (May - August)

Design Dissertation

Special Features

Brazilian week - We host an annual visit from top Brazilian designers, with joint activities organised with Brunel students. It’s an extremely exciting and rewarding experience for both our students and visitors.

Eminent speakers - Every year, our ‘Design Futures’ event offers students the chance to use their research to find design-based solutions to issues facing the world. Design Futures also features eminent guest speakers from all aspects of the design profession, who offer their views on the future of design and its role in meeting global challenges.

Industry and professional focus: London is arguably the most important design and creative capital in the world. Brunel Masters plays a key part in this vibrant landscape. Consequently students leave with a realistic and cutting edge set of skills and knowledge. A world renowned consultancy has praised Brunel design graduates for their ability to ‘hit the ground running’ – meaning they start work understanding modern branding and are able to immediately contribute to strategic thinking within a company.

International flavour: Our MA Design courses draw a truly international mix of students, creating a diverse pool of creative talent at Brunel that attracts employers.

Employability

The MA Design courses at Brunel have established links with industry. Every year the MA Team run a Design Futures module, which gives students a chance to explore future trends and scenarios, and to use research in order to find design-based solutions to issues facing the world.

As part of this initiative they invite eminent guest speakers from all aspects of the design profession to come to Brunel and give the students their views of the future, and the role that design will play in meeting global challenges. Speakers in recent years have included Sir Terence Conran, Sir George Cox, Lord Michael Bichard and Wally Olins, to name a few.

The MA Design staff also work closely with several branding and innovation consultancies, for instance, Design Bridge, NewEdge and Jane Wentworth Associates. The course also has a good relationship with trade association organisations such as Design Business Association (DBA). Working closely with these organisations has resulted in student projects, internships/work placements and also graduate employment positions.

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This pathway enables you to develop your own individual approach to spatial design within a creative multi-disciplinary environment . It supports the development of a personal trajectory while providing room for exploration, and encourages you to explore ideas and issues concerning design of the interior in numerous environments, from the room to the city. You can explore areas of landscape architecture, exhibition design, interior design, furniture design and design for the stage.

Course Overview

Our Master’s programme has been designed to support and enhance the skills of art and design practitioners who want to work in the cultural and creative industries. Awarded by Falmouth University and delivered in partnership with Hearst Magazines UK, publishers of ELLE, Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar, together we have designed an exciting and industry-connected Master’s to equip you for the real world.

The 12-month MA supports students across a range of Art & Design specialisms and you will be given the unique opportunity to explore your area within an interdisciplinary global culture. Bringing together students from a variety of disciplines through dialogue, idea-exchange and collaborative activities, the course prepares students for the hybrid and dynamic nature of contemporary creative practice. By enabling the pursuit of specialist subject expertise alongside opportunities to acquire the skills, experience and outlook necessary for professional success, we give our graduates the confidence to take the next step toward building their own creative futures.

The course is open to graduates from any art and design related degree subject and who already have knowledge and experience of a specialist area. Our MA will allow you to enhance your skills within your existing area, taking it in your own direction with support from a subject tutor. We currently support pathways in Fine Art, Communication Design, Illustration, Animation, Photography, Fashion Design, Fashion Communication, Product Design, Craft and Spatial Design.

Alternatively, you may be looking for a Master’s degree, but you are not clear which specialist pathway to follow, this course is designed to support those students arriving from a variety of undergraduate programmes with varying degrees of focus. The scope of the award in Art & Design is flexible enough to provide opportunities for you to experiment and try out new approaches before finding your focus.

Unique Opportunities

This programme offers outstanding specialist tuition combined with extensive academic contact and studio access. As a Master’s student, you will have:

• exclusive access to media and industry expertise through Hearst Magazines UK and their teams
• regular workshops with key industry stakeholders
• industry projects
• internship opportunities through Hearst Magazines UK and other creative industry contacts
• your own individual design space giving you flexibility on where you study
• lecturers who are visible and accessible five days a week
• opportunities to expand and enrich your ideas through daily interaction with students across other disciplines

The inter-disciplinary nature of the course and the teaching team, along with the wider staff expertise within the college means that specific tuition can be provided on a ‘bespoke’ basis if and when needs arise. In addition to support from academic staff, you will have regular group and one-to-one access to our Study Skills Coordinator for support with writing, research and academic skills.

Our dedicated Welfare Team are resourced and prepared to support all students. Should you require help with English language, support is available from our in-house provision. 

Course Structure

The course is structured to provide you with a wide range of activities in the modules at the start of the course, together with the opportunity to experiment and explore different methods and approaches. As you move through the programme you will then start to focus and identify individual ambitions, and plan and execute your final project.

Semester One

EXPERIMENTAL PRACTICE

Introduces you to new methods and approaches. You will take part in a series of set projects, which will encourage collaboration, experimental practice and creative activity.

THEORY AND RESEARCH

Within this module you will be exposed to a series of lectures and seminars around a series of shared themes that cut across theory and practice. You will be inspired to try out fresh and innovative methods in practice and you will work collaboratively and individually.

Semester Two

FOCUSING PRACTICE

This module will support your development of independent and self-initiated project work in your specialist area. To build your portfolio you will take part in live briefs set by our partners in the creative industries and supported to enter local and international competitions.

ART & DESIGN FUTURES

You will be asked to look ahead by engaging in the issues shaping the professional practice of art and design today. Lecturer talks will introduce you to a diverse range of contemporary art and design practices to inspire and orient your own career pathways. This module also gives you the opportunity to organise and complete a work placement enabling you to gain valuable professional experience.

Semester Three

FINAL MAJOR PROJECT

You will spend the final semester working on a self-initiated project in your area of specialism, underpinned by the cross discipline culture of the course. Your final submission will be a portfolio of work and a written report culminating in a final MA show.

Careers and Employability

With staff and visiting tutors active in the creative industries worldwide as researchers and practitioners, as artists, designers, writers, and curators you will be exposed to issues, debates and challenges that are transforming art and design practice in the 21st century.

More specifically, the modules encourage you to reflect upon the broad and hybrid nature of art and design and the emerging global workplace in which you will ultimately take your next steps. To offer you real-world experience through live briefs and the work placements, we collaborate with both international media and communication organisations (such as our partner Hearst Magazines UK) as well as local creative businesses on our doorstep in Cambridge—one of the UK’s centres of leading-edge creativity and innovation.

Visit the website for full specifications: http://www.csvpa.com/art-and-design/ma-art-design/course-details/about.htm

Click here to apply online: https://www.csvpa.com/apply-online/step1

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This course promotes the investigation and interpretation of interior space, inside and outside of the traditional architectural envelope, whilst considering human occupation, engagement and experience as the catalyst. This may manifest in a variety of outcomes and will allow you to work within your chosen speciality such as building re-use, exhibition or shop design, branding, identities or environmental graphics, performance or set design, temporary installations or ‘event’ design, furniture or artefact design. The specialist workshops provide you with opportunities to explore materiality, fabrication and realisation of your ideas, through technical rigour at a variety of scales whilst studio teaching is underpinned by engagement with industry.

Design Network

Based in the heart of the School of Art, MA/MFA Design: Interior Design is part of an innovative design network — a community of staff and students exploring design ideas in a discursive, cross-disciplinary studio environment. Critically informed practical designers, the group works experimentally, inspired by new insights and possibilities.

While studying towards a particular qualification at MA/MFA level, students experience their subject in the broader context of contemporary design practice.

Specialist Environment

Dedicated spaces for the postgraduate community have been developed to enable the postgraduate community to flourish. These spaces, for thinking and practice, are located centrally within the School of Art, allowing easy access to an extensive range of workshops where the combination of traditional and state of the art equipment opens up a world of exciting possibilities.

Course Content

The MA Design: Interior Design is made up of four units totalling 180 credits.

The programme is designed to help you acclimatise to the challenges of MA level research and practice, enabling you to identify and describe a clear direction for your postgraduate design study.

You will be encouraged to develop design propositions that encompass key design issues and have complexity and ambition, taking full consideration of the relative contextual drivers.

You will also be encouraged and supported to extend your experience in the professional sphere either through a practical project, research context, exchange, work experience, or other negotiated professional set of interactions with an external partner, groups of students and creative industry.

Towards the end of the programme you will undertake a major project to consolidate your past research and practice into fully realised collections, pieces, proposals, business plans, or exhibitions – what ever means is appropriate to the work. You will also have developed a strategy for the continuation of your practice located and contextualised to the profession or discipline.

If you choose to progress to MFA Design: Interior Design award you will study a further two units of 60 credits each.

This route is focussed on the continuation of your practice aligned to the research and selection of appropriate public or professional venues and platforms to disseminate a significant body of work. You will be required to produce work for a public audience in the most relevant and appropriate form along with any implicit publicity and dissemination material.

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MA Communication Design at Falmouth is a transformative, intensive studio based course, enabling you to develop your individual critical voice in communication design. The course prepares you for the demands of a rapidly changing, complex media world, where the ability to create meaningful and effective ideas is paramount.

Benefits:
- Learn from leading global design provocateurs and teachers in project challenges and study set
- Gain commercial experience through internships
- Work in a multi-million pound studio environment that mirrors leading contemporary design studios
- Specialist skills training, relevant for your project interests
- Final semester London show
- Digital final exhibition for global recognition and launch

Visit the website https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/communication-design-ma

How the course is taught

The course is structured over 45 weeks, across three semesters: deconstruction, reconstruction and reinvention.

You'll be in the studio most weekdays working on outcomes rooted in design process and the development of meaningful and innovative ideas. The experience is designed to be supportive yet provocative, so you can take your ideas and practice into new and exciting realms, that challenge you and the wider communications world.

Your learning is delivered across a mixture of set lectures, tutorials, workshops, and peer and tutor review.

Contact hours vary across the course, being most intensive during the first two semesters, with more self directed study as you develop your final project in the third semester. We expect some students to be away at points during the final semester, either working on research and project feedback, or attending internships.

Course outline

The course prioritises fresh and fearless thinking, developing students who see no boundaries to their work, curious to engage and discover while pursuing the highest level of innovation in communication design.

You'll gain an understanding of the global framework of communication design, and an approach to design process that delivers great ideas across diverse media platforms.

Mirroring the success of longstanding programmes at our School of Communication Design, you'll benefit from frequent industry contact, enabling you to stretch and question your practice, gaining inspiration from within and beyond your immediate boundaries.

Attracting a range of applicants, the course prepares you for independent or studio practice, in the applied creative industries, broader arts, or further academic research.

Our priority is to encourage your development by distilling and building your creative voice and ambition. We do so via three semesters, deconstruction, reconstruction and reinvention, with project outcomes mirroring a design process structure.

What you'll do

Semester 1: Deconstruction
- MACD 101: Process
(20 credits)
This module introduces the components of design process in relation to your own personal practice. Through provocation and critical debate you'll reflect on and challenge what you do, seeing how global, experiential and experimental insights can generate the most appropriate process models for a contemporary communications problem.

- MACD 102: Intersections
(20 credits)
This module examines the fundamental components to the production of design: human interaction and collaboration. Whether this interaction is between client and designer, object and user, or experience and emotion, it allows you to experience provocative challenges that hone your own standpoint. You'll learn how social engagement, polar tension or friction can inspire new thinking.

- MACD 103: Boundaries
(20 credits)
This module allows you to take more radical entry points into your understanding of practice; taking project interest into new forms or creating critical design response from more theorised or experimental catalysts.
Provocateurs will continue to challenge and stretch the limits of your enquiry, exploring new theoretical models and examining the debate of 'designer as author'; how works are translated or used; and how they or their work become the provocateur.

Semester 2: Reconstruction
- MACD 104: Curate and build
(40 credits)
You'll deep dive into your emergent interests, exploring how technology and an increasingly complex consumer and cultural landscape may effect your enquiry. Thinking by doing, you'll elect and develop skill sets and a depth of study in both practice and theory. With the module running across the whole semester, it allows you to fully prepare and test ideas and craft, sectors and media as you begin to prepare your main MA project.

- MACD 105: Compete
(20 credits)
Ahead of the final semester, you'll begin to look at avenues and insights for your own practice and from a business or funding perspective. You'll build professional skills relevant to individual need and examine components of design development including publishing, presentations, production and IP.

The module will also examine other methodologies of delivering work around the world, whether through commission or employment, working in known fields of the creative industries or with museums, arts organisations or universities and research bodies.
Student will also engage in competitive projects set by external bodies.

Semester 3: Reinvention
- MACD 106, MA project
(60 credits)
This module allows you to realise your final major project, in a largely self directed semester, bringing together practice, theory and an evaluation phase that provides reflection and potential industry or funding opportunities to be negotiated ahead of graduating.

The first phase leads to exhibiting at a key industry or cultural event, with an interim show. The second sees you gather insights, industry or critical feedback, or undertake an internship, or preparing for the launch of your project. This final phase sees the production of an essay or strategic report, depending on future plans.

Facilities

- Dedicated MA studio space
- Lecture theatres, design lab, break out spaces and meeting rooms
- Digital printing facilities, Risograph machine, woodblock printing and presses, workshop and negotiated access to screen-printing studios
- Apple suite, with Adobe CS and full collection of Monotype typefaces
- Extensive library facilities and digital collections
- Negotiated use of other facilities such as film, photographic, textiles and product design studios

Staff

You'll be taught by staff with backgrounds spanning design, academic, writing and research careers. They offer decades of experience teaching and working for leading studios, working with international clients, arts and cultural organisations, exhibiting and publishing work and research. They are enaged with many of the world's top creative universities and organisations as keynote speakers, external examiners and consultants. Overall they are all inspired by design, teaching, nurturing and encouraging great and motivated students.

Assessment

- Individual project briefs
- Design research journal
- Essay
- Oral presentations, individually and in groups
- Critical review or business plan

Careers

Communication design is a broad field of study, with career choices depending largely on your own personal project focus.

Options include:

- Graphic design
- Advertising
- Packaging and brand design
- Service design
- Photography and film
- Type design or illustration
- Editorial design
- Motion graphics, interactive or digital design
- Information or UX design
- Design criticism and writing
- Teaching, research or PhD study
- Allied fields: television, the heritage sector or exhibition design

Interview and selection process

Please apply via submission of an application form, an outline of your key interest or masters proposal and a portfolio. Details about our portfolio requirements can be found on the application form.

Interviews are held in person at the School, online via Skype or by phone.

Find out how to apply here - https://myfalmouth.falmouth.ac.uk/urd/sits.urd/run/siw_ipp_lgn.login?process=siw_ipp_app&code1=MACODEFC_SEP&code2=0001

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The Communication Design pathway supports students with a specialist interest in typography, graphic design, illustration, interactive design and branding. The pathway is concerned with the exploration, development and synthesis of conceptual, theoretical and practical skills to create compelling design solutions.

Course Overview

Our Master’s programme has been designed to support and enhance the skills of art and design practitioners who want to work in the cultural and creative industries. Awarded by Falmouth University and delivered in partnership with Hearst Magazines UK, publishers of ELLE, Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar, together we have designed an exciting and industry-connected Master’s to equip you for the real world.

The 12-month MA supports students across a range of Art & Design specialisms and you will be given the unique opportunity to explore your area within an interdisciplinary global culture. Bringing together students from a variety of disciplines through dialogue, idea-exchange and collaborative activities, the course prepares students for the hybrid and dynamic nature of contemporary creative practice. By enabling the pursuit of specialist subject expertise alongside opportunities to acquire the skills, experience and outlook necessary for professional success, we give our graduates the confidence to take the next step toward building their own creative futures.

The course is open to graduates from any art and design related degree subject and who already have knowledge and experience of a specialist area. Our MA will allow you to enhance your skills within your existing area, taking it in your own direction with support from a subject tutor. We currently support pathways in Fine Art, Communication Design, Illustration, Animation, Photography, Fashion Design, Fashion Communication, Product Design, Craft and Spatial Design.

Alternatively, you may be looking for a Master’s degree, but you are not clear which specialist pathway to follow, this course is designed to support those students arriving from a variety of undergraduate programmes with varying degrees of focus. The scope of the award in Art & Design is flexible enough to provide opportunities for you to experiment and try out new approaches before finding your focus.

Unique Opportunities

This programme offers outstanding specialist tuition combined with extensive academic contact and studio access. As a Master’s student, you will have:

• exclusive access to media and industry expertise through Hearst Magazines UK and their teams
• regular workshops with key industry stakeholders
• industry projects
• internship opportunities through Hearst Magazines UK and other creative industry contacts
• your own individual design space giving you flexibility on where you study
• lecturers who are visible and accessible five days a week
• opportunities to expand and enrich your ideas through daily interaction with students across other disciplines

The inter-disciplinary nature of the course and the teaching team, along with the wider staff expertise within the college means that specific tuition can be provided on a ‘bespoke’ basis if and when needs arise. In addition to support from academic staff, you will have regular group and one-to-one access to our Study Skills Coordinator for support with writing, research and academic skills.

Our dedicated Welfare Team are resourced and prepared to support all students. Should you require help with English language, support is available from our in-house provision. 

Course Structure

The course is structured to provide you with a wide range of activities in the modules at the start of the course, together with the opportunity to experiment and explore different methods and approaches. As you move through the programme you will then start to focus and identify individual ambitions, and plan and execute your final project.

Semester One

EXPERIMENTAL PRACTICE

Introduces you to new methods and approaches. You will take part in a series of set projects, which will encourage collaboration, experimental practice and creative activity.

THEORY AND RESEARCH

Within this module you will be exposed to a series of lectures and seminars around a series of shared themes that cut across theory and practice. You will be inspired to try out fresh and innovative methods in practice and you will work collaboratively and individually.

Semester Two

FOCUSING PRACTICE

This module will support your development of independent and self-initiated project work in your specialist area. To build your portfolio you will take part in live briefs set by our partners in the creative industries and supported to enter local and international competitions.

ART & DESIGN FUTURES

You will be asked to look ahead by engaging in the issues shaping the professional practice of art and design today. Lecturer talks will introduce you to a diverse range of contemporary art and design practices to inspire and orient your own career pathways. This module also gives you the opportunity to organise and complete a work placement enabling you to gain valuable professional experience.

Semester Three

FINAL MAJOR PROJECT

You will spend the final semester working on a self-initiated project in your area of specialism, underpinned by the cross discipline culture of the course. Your final submission will be a portfolio of work and a written report culminating in a final MA show.

Careers and Employability

With staff and visiting tutors active in the creative industries worldwide as researchers and practitioners, as artists, designers, writers, and curators you will be exposed to issues, debates and challenges that are transforming art and design practice in the 21st century.

More specifically, the modules encourage you to reflect upon the broad and hybrid nature of art and design and the emerging global workplace in which you will ultimately take your next steps. To offer you real-world experience through live briefs and the work placements, we collaborate with both international media and communication organisations (such as our partner Hearst Magazines UK) as well as local creative businesses on our doorstep in Cambridge—one of the UK’s centres of leading-edge creativity and innovation.

Visit the website for full specifications: http://www.csvpa.com/art-and-design/ma-art-design/course-details/about.htm

Click here to apply online: https://www.csvpa.com/apply-online/step1

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The School of Design offers a practice-based MRes pathway built on the wide range of our design research exploring the space between society and technology supported by expertise spanning Innovation Design Engineering, Global Innovation Design, Design Products, Healthcare Design, Service Design, Vehicle Design and Intelligent Mobility.

The pathway welcomes a broad approach to design research and encourages experimentation in practice-based methods supported by experienced researchers. Approaches can range from User Centred Design, Ethnographic, Anthropological, Action Research, Participatory Design Research, Cybernetics, Grounded Theory, to Transformation Design, Speculative, and Critical Design. We encourage diverse candidates who want to focus on commercial research, to prepare for doctoral studies and a future career in academic research or use the programme for career change to develop new skills and identify new research interests. Students will be introduced to relevant design research tools, methods, methodologies, theories and epistemologies aimed at supporting the development of a personal research approach. Applicants to the MRes Design pathway will benefit from an advanced practice-based design research culture and enjoy the freedom and autonomy that a self-directed research journey allows.

The School of Design has a long history of design research that can be traced back to Bruce Archer and the NHS hospital bed design in the 1960s through to today’s researchers who are internationally engaged in a broad range of areas from intelligent mobility through to citizen science, the future of making, socio-cultural design, experimental design, design for safety, design policy, service design and artificial intelligence and robotics as well as providing strategic advice to government and agencies. Recent commercial research funding partners have included Huawei, Tata, Airbus, Microsoft, and Intel amongst others with grant-maintained funding from the AHRC, EPSRC and the Lloyds Register Foundation.

We also have an excellent set of visiting experts and a global network of research collaborators that we draw on in our integrated School-wide research culture. These also bring strong synergies with the other RCA Schools and expertise areas including the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design combined with a strong local set of collaborations with the Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Design Museum and Imperial College London with whom we share three of our master’s programmes.The pathway encourages experimentation in practice-based research, supported by experienced researchers working on both commercial and grant maintained projects across the School’s major research themes, in areas including mobility, healthcare and the future of making. The training we provide through designing research and researching through design will be suitable for both commercial and academic careers as a stand-alone qualification and act as an accelerator to prepare for doctoral studies.

The School has an excellent set of commercial partners and a global network of research collaborators that we draw on in our integrated School-wide research culture. These also bring strong synergies and collaborations with the other RCA Schools and expertise areas including the Helen Hamlyn Centre and Sustain. Commercial research projects include working with Huawei, Tata, Airbus, Microsoft and Intel amongst others. We also have a strong local network that includes collaborations with the Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Design Museum and Imperial College London, with whom we share two of our masters programmes. Applicants to the MRes Design pathway will benefit from an advanced practice-based design research culture and enjoy the freedom and autonomy of a self-directed research journey.

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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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Our MA Urban Design programme is jointly delivered by the Welsh School of Architecture and the School of Geography and Planning. The goal of this programme is to enable practitioners and scholars to transform the field of urban design through critical thinking and creative practice.

Urban design is transdisciplinary, straddling professional fields such as architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and public policy, and also disciplines such as politics, economics, sociology and cultural studies. The programme fully embraces this transdisciplinarity through the theory, research training and design teaching it offers.

You will learn from academic staff from both schools who are highly accomplished and locally engaged in Cardiff, nationally in the UK, and internationally across the world. In the context of the design studios, you will also be able to benefit from the input and expertise of leading practitioners.

Studio teaching focuses on developing critically informed as well as creative and practical proposals for real sites, addressing important contemporary issues of design and urbanism

Distinctive features

• Learn from academics in two Schools which are ranked among the top 50 in the world.

• The course is taught via lectures, workshops and design studios, by staff drawn from both the architecture and planning schools, who are leading experts in their fields. Design Tutors include leading practitioners who bring their experience of cutting edge practice to the core of design studio work.

• The course is recognised by the Royal Town Planning Institute as a 'specialist' masters for those who have completed at least a three-year RTPI recognised undergraduate spatial planning degree, allowing completion of the RTPI's educational requirements for membership. For further details visit the Royal Town Planning Institute website.

• Accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), allowing completion of the educational requirement for RICS membership.

Structure

This is a one-year full-time degree.

The course is structured to provide a set of three lecture-based modules and three studio-based design modules, followed by a dissertation in the form of a research-based design project. The three lecture-based modules run in parallel with studio-based design projects which enable you to continually relate theory and practice.

Your research-based design project represents the culmination of your studies. You will be required to develop proposals relating to a chosen site, demonstrating an understanding of all aspects of urban design drawings and a written, reflective commentary.

You will have between 2-3 days of contact time each week, working between the design studio and your module lectures/seminars.

Core modules:

Urban Design Thinkers
Urban Design Foundation
Research Methods and Techniques
Development Management
Autumn Studio
Spring Studio
Research Based Design Project

Teaching

Teaching takes place in new light-filled studio spaces in the centre of the City. You will also have access to the latest modelling and workshop facilities in the Architecture School.

This MA is taught via lectures, workshops and design studios, by lecturers who are all experts in their fields – in geography, urban planning, urbanism, urban design and architecture. The design tutors also include leading practitioners who bring their experience of cutting-edge practice to the core of design studio work.

Studio teaching focuses on developing critically informed as well as creative and practical proposals for real sites, addressing important contemporary issues of design and urbanism.

Assessment

Non-design modules provide the foundations for developing understandings of urban design. These are assessed through:

• Essays
• Reports
• Presentations

Most of these provide the opportunities for summative assessment. However, tutorials, and a number of essays provide the opportunities for formative assessment.

Summative assessment is conducted at the end of each module. Formative assessment elements include design reviews, usually one or two per design module, and weekly tutorials also provide an opportunity for this.

Other forms of assessment include:

• Drawings
• Sketchbooks
• Viva voce examination of the dissertation
• Reports

Career Prospects

Graduates move onto careers as urban designers, or in urban design related work. Most of these careers are to be found within the wider areas of architecture, urban planning, property or public policy. These may be within the public, private or voluntary sectors. Some of our graduates continue to higher research degrees.

Guidance and mentoring on careers are provided during the year.

Fieldwork

As part of your studies you will take a field study visit within a UK city or a city in mainland Europe, which is fully funded within the advertised fees.

Study visits are an intrinsic part of this programme. Where your experience during the visits inform assessed assignments in required core modules, the visits are compulsory.

These field study visits are compulsory since experiences of urban design ‘in the field’ are required for completing some assignments. However, modified versions of the field trips may be allowed at the discretion of the Course Director.

The trip will require you to move around the city and make observations and presentations during these journeys. Every effort will be made to accommodate students with disabilities. It is advisable to speak to the Course Director about the possibility of adjustments before enrolling.

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Our MA Urban Design programme is jointly delivered by the Welsh School of Architecture and the School of Geography and Planning. The goal of this programme is to enable practitioners and scholars to transform the field of urban design through critical thinking and creative practice.

Urban design is transdisciplinary, straddling professional fields such as architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and public policy, and also disciplines such as politics, economics, sociology and cultural studies. The programme fully embraces this transdisciplinarity through the theory, research training and design teaching it offers.

You will learn from academic staff from both schools who are highly accomplished and locally engaged in Cardiff, nationally in the UK, and internationally across the world. In the context of the design studios, you will also be able to benefit from the input and expertise of leading practitioners. 

Studio teaching focuses on developing critically informed as well as creative and practical proposals for real sites, addressing important contemporary issues of design and urbanism.

Distinctive features

• Learn from academics in two Schools which are ranked among the top 50 in the world.

• The course is taught via lectures, workshops and design studios, by staff drawn from both the architecture and planning schools, who are leading experts in their fields. Design Tutors include leading practitioners who bring their experience of cutting edge practice to the core of design studio work.

• The course is recognised by the Royal Town Planning Institute as a 'specialist' masters for those who have completed at least a three-year RTPI recognised undergraduate spatial planning degree, allowing completion of the RTPI's educational requirements for membership. For further details visit the Royal Town Planning Institute website.

• Accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), allowing completion of the educational requirement for RICS membership.

Structure

This is a one-year full-time degree.

The course is structured to provide a set of three lecture-based modules and three studio-based design modules, followed by a dissertation in the form of a research-based design project. The three lecture-based modules run in parallel with studio-based design projects which enable you to continually relate theory and practice.

Your research-based design project represents the culmination of your studies. You will be required to develop proposals relating to a chosen site, demonstrating an understanding of all aspects of urban design drawings and a written, reflective commentary.

You will have between 2-3 days of contact time each week, working between the design studio and your module lectures/seminars.

Core modules:

Urban Design Thinkers
Urban Design Foundation
Research Methods and Techniques
Development Management
Autumn Studio
Spring Studio
Research Based Design Project

Teaching

Teaching takes place in new light-filled studio spaces in the centre of the City. You will also have access to the latest modelling and workshop facilities in the Architecture School.

This MA is taught via lectures, workshops and design studios, by lecturers who are all experts in their fields – in geography, urban planning, urbanism, urban design and architecture. The design tutors also include leading practitioners who bring their experience of cutting-edge practice to the core of design studio work.

Studio teaching focuses on developing critically informed as well as creative and practical proposals for real sites, addressing important contemporary issues of design and urbanism.

Assessment

Non-design modules provide the foundations for developing understandings of urban design. These are assessed through:

• Essays
• Reports
• Presentations

Most of these provide the opportunities for summative assessment. However, tutorials, and a number of essays provide the opportunities for formative assessment.

Summative assessment is conducted at the end of each module. Formative assessment elements include design reviews, usually one or two per design module, and weekly tutorials also provide an opportunity for this.

Other forms of assessment include:

• Drawings
• Sketchbooks
• Viva voce examination of the dissertation
• Reports

Career Prospects

Graduates move onto careers as urban designers, or in urban design related work. Most of these careers are to be found within the wider areas of architecture, urban planning, property or public policy. These may be within the public, private or voluntary sectors. Some of our graduates continue to higher research degrees.

Guidance and mentoring on careers are provided during the year.

Fieldwork

As part of your studies you will take a field study visit within a UK city or a city in mainland Europe, which is fully funded within the advertised fees.

Study visits are an intrinsic part of this programme. Where your experience during the visits inform assessed assignments in required core modules, the visits are compulsory.

These field study visits are compulsory since experiences of urban design ‘in the field’ are required for completing some assignments.
However, modified versions of the field trips may be allowed at the discretion of the Course Director.

The trip will require you to move around the city and make observations and presentations during these journeys. Every effort will be made to accommodate students with disabilities. It is advisable to speak to the Course Director about the possibility of adjustments before enrolling.

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