CD7011 - Explore and Experiment

The module will enable you to broaden your horizons and understanding of the wider design landscape through exploration and experimentation with design methods and practices for current or near future technological environments. As such the module will prioritise experimentation and creative risk-taking as you explore methods and practices for designing for new and future-facing environments and technologies.

The module consists of three interwoven strands which underpin the activities across your master’s journey: Context, Methods and Practice.

In the Context strand, you will learn how to think critically about new and emerging technology by viewing it in the context of contemporary and emerging issues and debates in the broad field of disciplines that constitute communication design.

In the Methods strand, you will learn how traditional design thinking and skills can be combined with emerging methods of inquiry and you will learn about some of the latest approaches and techniques that are forging new ground in communication design.

In the Practice strand, you will explore your practice through a series of design briefs informed by new and emerging design themes and challenges. You will learn to work productively with your tutors and peers, respond creatively to difficult challenges, and start defining an area of interest that will inform your self-initiated project.

The programme leader, the module tutors and your project advisor all play a role in guiding you throughout the programme.

You will be supported through online and live in-class support-sessions by tutors with relevant expertise in communication design or related subject and are either experienced practitioners, researchers or practitioner-researchers. Further academic support is provided via e-Learning tools, such as discussion groups, blogs and wikis. Additional contact with tutors may be available during office hours by arrangement.

Additional support is provided through the English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) module where English is not your first language.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:
• Demonstrate an understanding and a critical awareness of emerging and near-future design issues which inform your design practice.
• Select and draw on a range of design research methods and principles appropriate to subject specialism and advanced scholarship.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• Demonstrate an experimental and exploratory approach to emerging design issues in the generation of ideas, concepts and design proposals
• Clearly communicate and present novel and innovative concepts, ideas or conclusions to specialist and non-specialist audiences using appropriate media.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• Provide appropriate and critical peer feedback and/or self-reflection in the pursuit of independent, co-operative or collaborative design practice.

This module will be 100% summatively assessed at the end of the module through a portfolio submission and a critical reflection. Where possible, it will be digital submission through the eLearning Portal.

1. An annotated portfolio and press kit of visual evidence documenting the process and outcomes of the practical briefs. (KU1, KU3, IPSA1, IPSA2)
2. A 1500 words critical reflection on what you have learnt from semester one and propose how this might inform your future situated practice. (PVA2)

You will receive feedback in one to one and/or group sessions, and at interim and final presentations. Formative assessment will be provided through tutor guided independent learning or formal presentations. Summative assessment will be written, giving a marks breakdown of how the submission met the five individual learning outcomes.

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This module is designed to help you develop a critical understanding of modern communication design practices by introducing you to cutting-edge and forward-looking design approaches and methods. You will learn to position your work within the landscape of evolving design themes and technological advancements. Adopting an investigative and experimental stance, the module enables you to align your practice with contemporary theoretical frameworks and develop designs that integrate and anticipate new technologies.

You will undertake a series of structured briefs that immerse you in various research themes, allowing you to experiment with design techniques relevant to the ever-evolving digital realm, including artificial intelligence and immersive technologies like virtual and augmented reality.

You will learn through a combination of practical classes and workshops, with additional support provided by peer feedback and group working. The module will provide you with a grounding and confidence in experimentation that will inspire your practice and attitudes to risk-taking in the following modules.