DE7047 - Design for Critical Transitions Studio

What will I learn on this module?

Contribute to the global discussion about what it means to live well and what must be designed to create conditions that allow that to happen. Become an agent of transformation, orchestrating interactions that foster resilience and adaptability. Design not just for today, but for the cascading effects on tomorrow’s world.



The Design for Critical Transitions Studio uses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as an initial framework to consider the critical transitions that societies need to make and produces forums to collaboratively and creatively identify and nurture emerging alternative future realities. In this studio you will take a multiple-generational view, learning about the foundations, approaches and practices from Systemic Design, Transition Design, and Design for Policy, to form an approach to act now to support critical transitions that are just in their process and outcomes. Through the lens of Systemic Design, you will develop systems thinking and an understanding of the intricate web of relationships that define our world, crafting solutions that honour the complexity of life. Leaning on Transition Design and Transition Management approaches will enable you to envision, share and work collaboratively towards futures that are not only desirable but sustainable, designing to support interventions that are effective but also adaptable and scalable. Through ‘Design for Policy,’ approaches you will explore ways to influence the rules that govern our lives, ensuring they reflect collective values and aspirations.



Through this studio you will better understand systemic leverage points for micro, meso and macro scales of change and how design can be used to connect people with different priorities to deal to with disputes and dilemmas with cultural sensitivity. This will allow you to take longer-term strategic perspective on responsible innovation and how local action relates to and influences global issues.

How will I learn on this module?

You will learn through your teamwork on real-life systems projects within a collaborative studio in partnership with external collaborators. You will take the idea of a critical transition and using it in a performative way in a place-based setting, facilitating a social and transformative learning process, using design to create transition spaces and experiments.



You will help collaborators to envision a desirable future state and use different back-casting approaches to identify the necessary steps and policies to connect that future to the present. You will build on your experience in previous studios to take a leading role facilitating others participating in design workshops. You will receive feedback as part of your studio practice to help you improve and reflect.



Alongside studio practice with partners, you will learn through discourse in interactive seminars with academics on topics such as ‘the role of design in between creation and transition’, ‘imagining new systems for global challenges’, ‘bringing people together for systemic change and softening resistance against change’, ‘incentivizing transformative change for future generations’ and ‘the Designers’ role when not in charge of what’s being designed’.

How will I be supported academically on this module?

To inspire and inform your design for critical transitions understanding and practice you will be supported to access and introduced to ground-breaking new research and researchers engaged in these areas. This includes the latest developments in areas of expertise at Northumbria University like: computerised society and digital citizens; energy and material systems; biofutures; global development futures; urban futures; extreme environments; gendered violence and abuse. Your module tutors will help you frame knowledge from these research areas productively within your project space and collaborations with external project partners.



The module’s tutors and its supporting documentation will support you throughout the module so that you understand what to expect, how classes and project-based activities relate to your assignments, and so you can receive feedback within supervised studio sessions. These details will be explained in a module briefing where you will have the opportunity to ask questions. You will see your tutors throughout each week of the module where there will be opportunities to ask questions and gain support. Digital platforms allow you to engage in discussions and share relevant resources with the studio members (your peers, tutors and collaborators). These platforms also provide the means to contact your tutors directly.

What will I be expected to read on this module?

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)

What will I be expected to achieve?

Knowledge & Understanding:

Detail the nature and components of a dilemma in a transition context.

Examine existing responsible innovation frameworks.



Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:

Utilise design approaches to operate across generational time horizons to support transitions.



Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

Situate your own values, skill and abilities and their value within a transition context.

How will I be assessed?

Formative assessment will be provided through weekly contact with peers and tutors, and through in-depth project review and debriefing sessions.



Summative assessment will review an exhibition of your studio work and your reflection on the audiences’ reaction to the exhibition. The exhibition will present your synthesis of the context, the approach and methods you used, key moments and insights you developed and the outputs of your design for critical transitions project(s). The exhibition will be for a public audience using elements of project process and outcomes accompanied by approximately 2000 words of explanation.



Written summative feedback will be provided to highlight the strengths of your assignment submission and its areas of improvement. This feedback will make clear how you performed against the assessment criteria. All MLOs will be assessed through your exhibition.

Pre-requisite(s)

N/A

Co-requisite(s)

N/A

Module abstract

Contribute to the global discussion about what it means to live well and what must be designed to create conditions that allow that to happen. Become an agent of transformation, orchestrating interactions that foster resilience and adaptability. Design not just for today, but for the cascading effects on tomorrow’s world.



You will learn about and use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework to consider the critical transitions that need to be designed and achieved for societies to survive and thrive. You will discover and apply the practices of Systemic Design, Transition Design, and Design for Policy to address real-world challenges posed by external collaborators, to deliver local impact with global relevance.



This studio is designed to enable students to act as co-researchers contributing new knowledge and understanding about design for critical transitions. Your project-based work will be developed as a public exhibition of practice developments and outcomes and this exhibition will be the assessable assignment for this studio.

Course info

Credits 20

Level of Study Postgraduate

Mode of Study 1 year Full Time

Department Northumbria School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries

Location City Campus, Northumbria University

City Newcastle

Start September 2025

Fee Information

Module Information

All information is accurate at the time of sharing. 

Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.  

Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.

 

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