LEARNING OUTCOMES
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
(1) elaborate product concepts of high aesthetic and stylistic appeal and sophistication and to create argumentation on their design
(2) identify the premises of form giving such as design strategy, brand positioning, trends, cultural differences in consumer preference and such not forgetting their personal insight
(3) specify and communicate the goals of visual design and they develop advanced skills in converting these premises to solutions that are expressed in 3-dimensional form.
Credits: 9
Schedule: 21.10.2024 - 05.12.2024
Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):
Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Simo Puintila
Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):
Simo Puintila
Lecturer
simo.puintila@aalto.fi
CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):
Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):
Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English
CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD
Content
valid for whole curriculum period:
The course gives the students an opportunity to focus on form and aesthetics and deepen their skills. They learn to master a reflective process of visual design and build personal repertoire of visual design principles. The course gives the students advanced skills in form giving and the aesthetical design of physical products or artefacts. The course addresses a critical viewpoint of understanding dominant aesthetic conceptions and ways of perceiving products, designand form. Individual design processes and form giving is reflected against these perceptions. Students get to experiment with and perfect their skills with a range of visual manual and digital design tools and methods such as mood boarding, sketching, design drawing and computer aided design tools.
They become competent with contemporary techniques in design visualisation and they learn to justify their solutions visually and verbally.
The focus of the course is mainly on design concept development and communicating developed concept further with the help of visual media such as sketching, drawing and rendered images.
applies in this implementation
The idea of this course is based on the idea that the student is given a very free theme within which to work, on the other hand the work will be guided by, for example, a limited number of materials and manufacturing methods.
The theme of this year's course is SPORTS, which also makes it possible to find a personal interest in this theme, on the other hand, the starting point can also be quite user-oriented.
In the Product & Form 1 course, the topic is nurtured through interesting visits and lectures dealing with the topic from different perspectives.
The course generally follows the following weekly schedule:
On Mondays: work and weekly reflection
Tuesdays: guest lecturers and excursions
Wednesday: work
Thursdays: guest lecturers, personal guidance meetings
Fridays: personal guidance meetings
If you are considering participating in the course, I recommend that you also complete the Product & Form 2 part in the fourth period, because the actual prototyping takes place on Product and Form 2.
The main content of Product & Form 1 is related to idea- and concept development and managing your own personal design and creative process. The assignment of the course is ultimately quite open and free.
In this course, the designer actually has to create the design drivers themselves, because the client or customer is not dictating technical or functional restrictions that would guide the design in a defined direction.
Such a process sounds easy in principle, but is actually the most difficult way to implement a design. The undeniable advantage of the process is identifying and developing your own creative process. This skill will also be extremely useful later when you work as a designer in multidisciplinary team of professionals.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me;
Simo
simo.puintila@aalto.fi
Assessment Methods and Criteria
valid for whole curriculum period:
The students on the course work in design studio mode elaborating their individual assignments under the super vision of the instructor(s). The elaboration is supported by lectures, excursions and literature assignments. Active participation in lectures, excursions and group activity, design assignments and personal reflection. Evaluation criteria: process/reflection, participation, concept development design/aesthetics, visualisations/renderings, general evaluation.
Workload
valid for whole curriculum period:
Course workload 9 cr = 243 h. 80% attendance is required.
Contact teaching 40 h
Individual work 154 h
Personal reflection 48 h
Course evaluation 1 h
DETAILS
Study Material
valid for whole curriculum period:
Hara, Kenya (2007). Designing Design. Zurich: Lars Müller Publishers. (selected chapters)
Pye, David (2000). The Nature and Aesthetics of Design. London: A & C Black. (selected chapters)
Zumthor, Peter (1998). Thinking Architecture. Basel: Birkhauser Verlag. (selected chapters)
Additional study materials will be announced in the beginning of the course.
Substitutes for Courses
valid for whole curriculum period:
Prerequisites
valid for whole curriculum period:
SDG: Sustainable Development Goals
11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
12 Responsible Production and Consumption
FURTHER INFORMATION
Further Information
valid for whole curriculum period:
Teaching Language: English
Teaching Period: 2024-2025 Autumn II
2025-2026 Autumn IIRegistration:
Minimum 6, maximum 18 students. Priority to Contemporary Design major students (10 places) and Collaborative and Industrial Design major students (6 students) who have this course accepted in their personal study plan. Priority will be given to the students who will continue in Product and Form II course. Students who have completed their BA degree will be prioritized. Registration for Courses in Sisu. Priority order to courses is according to the order of priority decided by the Academic committee for School of Arts, Design and Architecture https//www.aalto.fi/en/services/registering-to-courses-and-the-order-of-priority-at-aalto-arts
Details on the schedule
applies in this implementation
COURSE STARTS TUESDAY TUESDAY 22nd OCTOBER
First meeting at 09:15 Q102