Design Essentials

Course Coordinator: Ir Dr Tony Lee, BEng (Hons), PhD (HK PolyU); CEng; MIET; MIEEE; MHKIE; MCIE

DESN S217 is a middle-level course within the degree programmes in Electronics, and Design and Innovation.

Aims
This course aims to:

• Develop your ability to apply critical and inquisitive thinking skills when you observe design objects in the world around you;
• Develop your skills for research, planning and development of a design project;
• Teach you how to turn design concepts into a well-defined design description;
• Develop your ability to think and communicate ideas through modeling and drawings.

Contents
This course covers the following topics:

• Exploring design and the design process — This looks at the relation between people and products and discusses the human, cultural and engineering factors that influence the creation of designs.
• Designing for people — This focuses on designing for people and the research carried out in the early stages of the design process.
• Creative design — This covers the core theories of creativity and focuses on the creative strategies that designers employ in order to address design problems.
• Embodying designs — This looks at the configuration and form of designs, and aims to develop your visual and spatial reasoning skills.
• Design for manufacturing — This looks at material and manufacturing processes, and how design ideas are developed into detailed designs for manufacturing.

Learning support
There will be regular tutorial and surgery sessions.

Assessment
There are three assignments and a final examination. Students are required to submit assignments via the Online Learning Environment (OLE).

Online requirement
This course is supported by the Online Learning Environment (OLE). You can find the latest course information from the OLE. Through the OLE, you can communicate electronically with your tutors and the Course Coordinator as well as other students. To access the OLE, you will need to have access to the Internet. The use of the OLE is required for the study of this course.

Equipment
Students will need access to a computer with Internet access. You may be asked to download and install software on your computer to complete the assignments. The recommended requirements for the computer are as follows:

• A desktop or laptop computer purchased within the last 7 years
• Microsoft Windows Vista or later, or Apple Mac OS X 10.6 or later installed

You will also need the following to complete the assignments in the course:

• A digital camera (2 megapixel or greater) to take photos of your work
• A printer to print out your work or other materials

Set book(s)
There are no set books for the course.

Students with disabilities or special educational needs
This course contains practical work that may be challenging if you are visually impaired or have limited mobility or manual dexterity. You are encouraged to seek further advice from the Course Coordinator if you have any doubts about your ability to complete all of the course work.