MAPD4300 Design for Experience Course description

This course involves the exploration of underlying phenomenon for the experiences that products and services elicit. Theories on product attachment, psychological mechanisms and heuristics, game and play theory make the fundament for design methods intended to elicit meaningful experiences. Design created within this context brings a discussion about product attachment, product lifetime and consumption up to surface, in relation to sustainable design, and behaviour. In extension, these discussions produce understanding and design processes that make the origin for a design projects and thus products and services with more predictable outcomes in relation to what feelings and activities they elicit.

Admission to the Master-s programme

On successful completion of this course the students are expected to have these learning outcomes acquired:

Knowledge 

The student has 

• attained advanced knowledge on methods that involve the exploration and creation of products and services that may elicit feelings of attachment and enjoyment.
• level on theories and methods in "game mechanics in design"

Skills

The student is able to 

• create design parameters on the basis of exploring user psychology and behaviour in real life and through theory
• explore and use design methods that involve the study of psychological mechanisms (habits, persuasion, and feelings of attachment)
• comprehend and apply methods that involve the exploration and creation of products and services that may elicit feelings of attachment and enjoyment.

General competence

The student has

• developed understanding and practices based on how to understand and create products and services that are attuned with the principles of sustainable design within the dimension of consumerism/user behaviour, feelings of attachment and the environment 

• the ability to implement a chosen specialization as an additional approach or focus within this specific course context

• Underlying mechanisms of brand building
• Product attachment 
• Scrum methodology/agile communication
• User experience 
• Emotional factors in design/psychological mechanisms in design
• User behaviour 
• Sustainability 
• Game mechanics
• Scrum, agile communication and sprint methodology

The most important teaching and learning methods for this course are workshops, lectures, group work, studio courses and tutoring.

The following required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam:

• One note of reflection. Maximum 1000 words.
• Group assignments, lasts for 1-5 days.

Individual or group portfolio examination. The portfolio consists of:

• design process documentation. Various medias possible. Students can choose to work in groups. Maximum 3 students per group.

The examination result can be appealed. 

No restrictions.

A grading scale of A (highest) to F (lowest) where A to E is a pass grade and F is a fail grade.

Two internal. External examiner is used periodically.