Design and designing
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People encounter designed products every day, from bus tickets to buildings. We travel on, wear and even eat products that have been designed. This course introduces the products and practices of contemporary design. You’ll learn about the processes that generate products, practise basic design skills, and discover what being a designer involves – exploring mass market production like music players and kitchen gadgets, and more specialist contributions such as a Formula One car, solar-heated building or unique wedding dress. If you’re already a practising designer, the course will develop your understanding of design principles – enabling you to see and compare their application in various fields.
Fees 2012
See fees and funding options for study from September 2012.
Course facts
An undergraduate course in Engineering and Technology.
| About this course: | |
|---|---|
| Course code | T211 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 9 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: |
|---|
| 6 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) |
| Examination |
| No residential school |
Register for the course
This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees and financial support may vary by country.
What you will study
Designing a product – whatever it is – it is essentially a creative human activity, even though in some fields it has become global and highly computerised.
The main aims of this course are to develop your:
- design awareness, and foster an analytical judgement of designed objects by helping you to understand how design decisions are made, the influences that contribute to those decisions, and the nature of the designing process
- understanding of design principles applicable across a variety of professional practices such as product design, engineering and architecture
- design skills, by giving instruction, examples and experience in the use of basic techniques such as drawing, modelling and creative thinking.
There are six blocks in the course. Broadly, Block One introduces you to the phenomena of design and designing; Block Two examines how companies formulate design plans including market research; Block Three explores creativity in design; and Blocks Four and Five investigate the conversion of design ideas into tangible and successful products. These include the influence of new materials and manufacturing techniques; issues of sustainability; and the significance of landmark products of the past. Block Six allows the identification of both common and unique qualities in the principles and practices of modern designing via a series of case studies.
Entry
This is a Level 2 course. We have designed it to be accessible and of interest to students of arts, social sciences, business studies and education as well as to those taking courses in science or technology. If you are studying materials, mechanics or electronics, you will benefit from gaining a design perspective; if you are already a designer, the course will broaden your experience and show the relationships between design principles and practices. Beyond basic literacy skills, nothing more specific is expected other than a curiosity about objects, why they are as they are, and how they might be different and better. We do not assume that you can already design, or even draw competently. You will be taught all the concepts and skills that you need, but if you already have some skills you will be able to develop them further.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
You may find you need help with the practical work. The course requires freehand sketching and the construction of basic three dimensional models (e.g. in cardboard) to assist communication of design ideas. In addition, the teaching makes reference to a very large number of illustrations of design via print and DVD.
Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF Components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader and musical notation and mathematical, scientific, and foreign language materials may be particularly difficult to read in this way. Other alternative formats of the study materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
You will need to spend considerable amounts of time using a personal computer. If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our publication Meeting Your Needs.
You can also find information about accessible study materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Study materials
You will need
Included with the course is some computer-aided design software. This software is included as an optional extra, and it is not necessary to use the software to pass the course.
However, if you do wish to explore this software, it is recommended that you check the system requirements in the product's website.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave. Some of your course software will be provided on disk.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new Windows computer since 2005 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual. Please note that you cannot use an Apple Mac or Linux computer unless it is running Windows using Boot Camp or similar dual-boot system.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the study material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. We may also be able to offer group tutorials or day schools that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend. Where your tutorials are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the course. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.
Assessment is an essential part of the teaching, so you are expected to complete it all. But if you unavoidably miss or do badly in an assignment, some courses allow you a ‘substitution score'. In T211 this rule can apply to one assignment. You will be given more detailed information when you begin the course.
Professional recognition
This course may help you to gain recognition from a professional body. From this website you can download our Recognition Leaflet 3.3 Professional Engineering Institutions.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in February 2013 when it will be available for the last time. It will be replaced by Designing in action (T217) in October 2013.
Fees 2012
See fees and funding options for study from September 2012.
Course facts
An undergraduate course in Engineering and Technology.
| About this course: | |
|---|---|
| Course code | T211 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 9 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: |
|---|
| 6 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) |
| Examination |
| No residential school |
Study explained
- Financial support
- - find out if you qualify for support with your fees with our eligibility checker.
- Study explained
- - all you need to know about distance learning with the OU.
Student Reviews
This was my 2nd year course, having completed U101 Level 1 course in the previous year. I found the book ...
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Having had little exposure to the design process, I found this module to be very interesting. Case studies, the design ...
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