Digital Design & Innovation Modules

Software is everywhere in today's world − from our homes to outer space, from medicine to digital products, software is everywhere we look and a part of everyday life. Having a basic understanding of what software is, how it can be used, and how we engage with software as a creator and not just as a user is a key part of technoliteracy and an essential skill of the 21st century. In this module, students gain an understanding of the most important aspects of software engineering. Students encounter contemporary best practices of the software development process and how to apply these in practice. Students select and schedule their own learning path based on a set of offerings and reflect on their choices.

Students who successfully complete this module develop a basic understanding of Design and its application in both analog and digital contexts. Students are exposed to (and required to deploy) a range of introductory methods, tools, and theories related to Design. Students explore topics (for example through design briefs or challenges) in groups or individually and through research, develop creative responses that are contextually appropriate. Students develop their knowledge and experience through engagement in Orientation Semester-specific workshops, peer-to-peer feedback and critique sessions, through learning-by-doing in project-focused work and reflective activities and outputs.

We live in a world of products. Almost everything that is designed and engineered in some way is made available to the world in the form of a product. The product mindset does not need to be only about commercial products, but equally applies to non-profits products and social innovation. Business, product and innovation managers help to define and bring to life digital and physical solutions to real-world needs and problems, while the entrepreneurial mindset ensures the viability of the products and organizations which build them, whether in a highly scalable startup, an established company of any size, or an NGO.
In this module, students gain a broad overview of perspectives and methods in business management and entrepreneurship. Students understand key elements of product discovery, market analysis and product strategy and apply them within guided exercises. Furthermore, students are introduced to the fundamental principles of agile product development, and they know the main aspects of the roles of business, product and innovation managers in organizations.

Project-based learning (PBL) is the core pedagogic approach at CODE University of Applied Sciences in which students are engaged in complex, real-world projects that are linked to their studies and encourage them to develop inquiry and problem-solving abilities.
During this module students are exposed to key principles, methods, tools, and approaches of PBL which they will apply to a project that forms/is the synthesis of learning, outcomes, and outputs from OS_01, 02, 03. This is a practical module and students are expected to demonstrate a body of work that includes experiments, documentation, and reflection on practice throughout. The main objective is to provide students with sufficient background knowledge in Project based learning that allows them to transition into core semester study.

In this module, students learn the use of color, contrast, shapes, and proportions according to the gestalt principles and practice this through diverse applications. Students learn the fundamentals of photography, e.g. image composition, lighting and flash, aperture, and exposure. Students learn to use the medium of photography and other visual practices as an expressive and experimental tool.

Generative Design teaches students about the exploration process and personal expression. The iterative writing and modification of so ware code becomes a personal expression, as it is done in an experimental and playful way. The goal is. for students to build awareness of the creation process of computer-generated output.

This module is intended to introduce students to the fundamentals of visual communication practices. Additionally, this module introduces students to fundamental principles and applications of design, emphasizing critical social and cultural awareness of design issues and the development of technical skills. Students create typographically focused solutions to design challenges and explore the relationship between type and image. The module emphasizes ideation, combining visual and verbal elements, as well as the development of advanced layout skills and grid-based typographic structures. This module covers color theory and its application and lays the foundation for further study of design.

This module provides a general overview of important designers. It encourages students to understand their own work and that of key practitioners in a historical, theoretical, social, and ethical framework. This background helps the student to reflect on their work in depth. The module also presents a future-oriented perspective for their student to utilize in their own work. Overall, this module helps the student to evolve critical thinking regarding design as a future-facing discipline.

In this module, students are provided with an introduction to design research through the utilization of primary research method(s) in order to gather data and develop insights. This module invites students to investigate a self-defined context in order to raise awareness about peoples’ motivations, behaviors, assets, needs, desires, fears etc.
It is a practical module therefore students are expected to demonstrate a body of work that includes experiments, documentation and reflection on practice throughout.

This module sits at the intersection between Design and product management. It explores the new and emerging. role for design in industry and its contribution to product innovation and value proposition. It provides students with an overview of how to determine what to make and do, why to do it, and how to innovate contextually, both immediately and over the long term. This further enables students to create meaningful products—services with character—by considering relevant touchpoints. Students learn techniques relating to market and brand analyses, predicting future scenarios, technology forecasting, and roadmapping for strategic design.

Brand Design investigates how a company’s values, vision, and mission are reflected in the respective brand’s “look and feel” to specific target audiences. Students learn a process to support design decisions that consistently communicates the brand identity both visually (e.g. logo, color palette) and verbally (e.g. tone of voice).

In this module, students learn how infographics transform information into concise images that are easy to understand. Messages can be communicated to the user in a succinct, visual way. This is done using graphic conventions and codes involving color, typography, diagrams, photographs, illustrations, pictograms, maps, and more. A historical overview shows the evolution from early infographics to interactive infographics in digital media and modern data visualization. The students examine how data can be transformed into memorable experiences that engage the user through visual installations and audio and graphic experimentation.

In this module, hardware and microcontrollers are used to teach an understanding of digital, physical interaction beyond the screen. Basic electronic circuits are created along with breadboard and electronic components. In workshops, students learn to work with sensors, motors, LEDs and other components driven by microcontrollers or their smartphones to create experiences that spark the user’s interest and solve problems in unique ways. The overall aim of the workshops are to be experimental and creative in order to create playful interactions.

In a virtual or augmented reality, the user can interact with a computer-generated or real-image-based 3D environment through multimodal displays that support interaction through vision, hearing, and touch. Students who study this module examine the nature of virtual reality and receive an introduction to topics relating to the perception of virtual environments (e.g., stereo vision and sound localization). A range of display and input technologies (e.g., head-mounted displays, cubic projection displays, and tracking technologies) are explored. The module also focuses on navigation in diverse 3D structures.

This module explores the theoretical, design-related, and technical aspects of responsive design and technology. Students learn about the history of web design and its evolution into responsive design. Using contemporary tools and methods, students learn how to create basic or advanced screen designs and/or HTML/CSS implementations based on responsive criteria and principles. Special emphasis lies in the various device types and screen sizes as well as user needs regarding this topic.

Services are ubiquitous and their design utilizes a people centered design process that is used by designers and organizations in order to develop better services. Service design adds value for users by exploring, understanding, and improving their experiences across the various stages of service and for service providers by enhancing their back-end operations.
This module takes students through the methods and tools used to build services that meet the needs of users. Students are taken through different aspects of service design such as how to bridge the research - design gap with user models, how to create scenarios that are contextually relevant and fit for purpose, how to evaluate service design outcomes based on guidelines and best practices in this context. This list is not exhaustive and constitutes some aspects of service design tools and methods.

Visual interfaces that are attractive, consistent and easy to understand are the typical bridges between successful digital solutions and their audience.
This module sheds light on the foundational knowledge for designing user visual interfaces. It addresses how we humans perceive visual interfaces, and how designers apply this knowledge to create user interfaces in creative and professional ways.
With a user-centered and inclusive perspective, the module covers the design process that includes modeling users' needs, information architecture, sketching and wireframes, design standards, usability, evaluation with users and design systems.

In this module, students explore the fundamentals of design through the lens of positive psychology in a group project. The module focuses on the interrelation between design and human behavior and teaches basic theories relating to psychological needs, positive experiences, emotions, perception, cognition, and effect. Students develop an understanding of human centered design through practical application. Students begin by investigating a given context and finish with an evaluated concept.

This module follows ID_06 Design Methods I - an introduction to design research.
In this module, students develop a more complex self directed design research project through the application of multiple primary research methods and the utilization of secondary research/sources.
Through the use of given design methodologies (e.g., the double diamond), students define an area to investigate, gather data through aligned primary methods and synthesize contextually relevant insights and project next steps (e.g., design and/or research brief development).
In this module, students are expected to develop a critical understanding of the role of the design researcher, ethical practice, methods of data acquisition (e.g., validation and triangulation), analysis, etc. It is a practical module, so students are expected to demonstrate a body of work that includes experiments, documentation and reflection on practice throughout.

This module explores the application of animation and motion in both sequential and interactive media. Students must engage with the craft of animation both theoretically and practically to create compelling animations that communicate, emote or guide the user or viewer into a deeper understanding of the subject of the work. The module covers the context and history of animation, the underlying theories and principles of effective animation as well as practical tools and techniques needed to create engaging animated work.

This module provides students with an overview of methods and tools that can be utilized to create stories through compelling motion pictures. This includes storytelling and storyboarding, shots and framing, camera angles and movements, illumination, editing, aftereffects, and sound. Through this process, students need to meet the requirements of the production team and adopt changes accordingly. Additionally, students are required to show their work in public format and facilitate a reflection.

Building physical interfaces to interactive systems extends usefulness and usability beyond the screen, enabling a wide range of interactive experiences and allowing digital products to be created for a broad variety of use cases and contexts. Indicative areas of study in this module include exploring the current TEI and PI environment, microcontrollers and sensors, network connectivity of physical devices, and non-screen interactions. Students also learn physical Design paradigms and their history and application. Gain experience of some of the tools of physical interface-based prototyping - for hardware (e.g., Arduino, rPi, Beagle Bone) and software (e.g., p5, Javascript, C++, APIs, etc.) . Additional areas of indicative study include basic electronics, designing physical forms, accessibility, privacy, and standards-oriented design and development and networking and connectivity possibilities for extending functionalities (e.g., LoraWan, HTTP, OSC, Web of Things (WoT), etc.). The course also addresses aspects of design-based research for PI and TEI using lo-fi and hi-fi physical prototyping techniques, evaluation, and testing techniques. The course involves the use of common methodologies, processes and approaches such as Bodystorming, Wizard of Oz prototyping, Research Through Design approaches (RtD) and measures such as Technology Acceptance Model framework (TAM2).

In this module, students explore the field of the artistic industry. The module focuses on the conception and implementation of a body of artistic works (e.g., exhibitions, a book, interventions, performances). Students aim to raise awareness and inspire their audience on a given topic in a lasting manner. Students explore diverse ways to execute and test aspects before planning, creating, and executing a final work. Afterward, students will reflect on their work in a meaningful way.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques are rapidly entering mainstream use in a wide variety of digital product contexts. This module explores AI and ML as design materials, investigating the potentials and challenges of AI techniques in an Design and creative context.
Indicative areas of study in this module include: An introduction to the current AI arena and machine learning environment, including techniques and domains such as Speech to Text (STT), Text to Speech (TTS), Computer Vision (CV), Machine Learning (ML) applications of neural network types, Large Language Models, and applications and processes of large data sets. The course also considers issues associated with AI and machine learning regulatory frameworks and ethics. Additional indicative study areas include the creation and use of datasets (e.g., expert systems, recommender systems, computer vision, and machine learning), practical applications of ML and AI techniques approached from a design context, and the use of high-level tools in prototype scenarios and discussion of the creative and design opportunities and challenges of working with smart tools and processes.