DESI G N

APPROACH

syllabus
mooc
 2015

colophon
This course was
produced, written
& designed by
José Hekkens
Jaap Daalhuizen
Jan Schoormans
Annemiek van Boeijen
Koen Schellekens
Iris Jönsthövel

DESIGN
Jos Vlugter © TU Delft 2017
table of content
1. Introduction 4
1.1 Delft Design Approach 4
1.2 Delft Design Guide 5

2. Course structure 6
2.1 Planning 6
2.2 What to expect each week 8

3. Deliverables 9
3.1 Templates 9
3.2 How to upload your work 10
3.3 Share your work 11
3.4 Assessments 11

4. Discussion forum 12
4.1 Guidelines 12

5. Grading and certification 13

5.1 Grading 13
5.2 Certification 13

6. How to get most out 14

of this course

Delft Design Approach Syllabus 3

1.
introduction
This MOOC introduces you to the Delft
Design Approach: an iterative design
process we use in the Design program
in Delft. During this course you will
be introduced to - and be using! -
techniques and methods that can help
you in creating successful products
people love to use.
Main learning objectives are:
You will understand the basics and
a structure of designing meaningful
products for people.
You will be able to apply relevant
design methods and tools in a
design project; starting from
discovering a design domain and
ending with the delivery of a tested
design concept.
You will be able to communicate
your design process.
You will understand the iterative and
reflective nature of designing.
4 Delft Design Approach Syllabus
1.1 Delft Design Approach
This MOOC offers you the opportunity
to gain insight in and training with
a number of signature methods and
tools from the faculty of Industrial
Design Engineering, Delft University of
Technology. The methods and tools that
we offer you - and the way that they
have been integrated in this course - are
particular for the way that we teach
designing in Delft. The program is one
of the oldest, university-level, design
programs in the world, dating back
more than 40 years. We find it important
to share the vision on design and design
education that drives our educational
program forward.
The faculty of Industrial Design
Engineering has a rich tradition in
developing and teaching models and
methods for product and service design.
In this course you have the opportunity
to get introduced to some of the basic
principles that underlie the way we
teach design in Delft and to some of the
key methods and tools that we use to
teach design.
1.2 Delft Design Guide
Most of the methods that we use in
our design program in Delft have been
published in the Delft Design Guide.
This guide presents an overview of
models, perspectives and methods used
in the Bachelor and Master curriculum
of the faculty of Industrial Design
Engineering of the Delft University of
Technology.
Some of the reading material for this
course is from the Delft Design Guide
and is available on the course pages as
pdfs in the appropriate weeks. If you are
interested in all of the methods in the
guide you can order the book or ebook
at the publisher or via bookstores. The
guide is also available in Chinese and
Japanese.

Figure 1:
Delft Design Guide,
available in Chinese,
Japanese & English

5
2.
course structure
2.1 Planning
The course is structured along 7 steps
that can be completed over a period
of 7-8 weeks. Each week will teach
you a key element of the Delft Design
Approach, including relevant methods
and/or tools. When you go through the
whole course you will complete a whole
‘design cycle’ in 4 main phases: Discover,
Define, Design & Deliver.
Before you start the course, you will get
familiar with the contents and structure
of the course in the ‘welcome’ section.
Then, we kick off by introducing you
to the way that we advocate Design
in Delft. In this first week, we will also
teach you how to design meaningful
products for people. After that, the
course takes you through the Delft
Design Approach as illustrated in Figure
2. There is also an (optional) extra
assignment: building a prototype for
your final concept!
The course starts with an exploration of
the design theme. You will then define
your own design challenge within that
theme, design something that meets
your design challenge and deliver your
end result in a final presentation.

6 Delft Design Approach Syllabus

Figure 2: Course structure

7
2.2 What to expect each week
Each week (or period of two weeks) of
the course has more or less the same
structure. Figure 3 shows what content
you can expect every week and what
kind of activities are expected from you.
Introduction videos
Each week starts with an introduction
video by Dr. Ir. Jaap Daalhuizen. He will
highlight the previous week’s learning
points and introduce the topic of the
new week.
Lecture videos
The topic and related methods and/or
tools are introduced in two or more
videos by the relevant lecturer. There is
a quiz after each lecture that you can
use to test your knowledge.
Assignment template
For each assignment you can find
instructions that guide you through the
steps. You will also find a downloadable
template (PDF) that you can use to
present your results.
Design assignment
In this course we focus on the design
exercises. We think this is the most
important part of the course. And the
most fun! The exercises build on each
other, so as you go along, they form
8 Delft Design Approach Syllabus
your own design project. The details of
each assignment will be revealed per
week. In most assignments we ask you
to upload a picture or a link to a short
movie or presentation of your work.
Assessment
Every week we will ask you to assess
your results. This will be done via self
assessments and checklists. For more
see Chapter 3.4.
Benchmark video
For each exercise, there will be a
benchmark video to which you can
compare your own work. You can
use it either before you start with the
assignment as inspiration, or afterwards
for reflection purposes. The benchmark
video shows you how Koen and Iris,
two experienced students from Delft,
did the same exercises, and it contains
reflections from a design professional.
Sofa session
At the end of each week there is a sofa
session video in which Dr. Ir. Annemiek
van Boeijen discusses intermediate
results and shares some inspiring
examples that were submitted by
learners during the instructor-paced
version of this course.
 Figure 2: Course structure

Course content (input for you)

Work session (your output)

Video
Quiz
lecture 1

Introduction Video Assignment

Quiz
video lecture 2 template

Input for assignment

Design Upload & share

assignment work

Reflecting on & discussing your work

Assessment Benchmark Sofa Session

video

Figure 3: Weekly content & work

9
3.
deliverables
3.1 Templates
A work template will accompany every
week’s assignment. These templates
will guide you through the steps of the
assignment. You can fill these in on your
computer or use a printed version. A
printed version also allows you to clarify
your thoughts with drawings. This can
help in communicating your ideas; see
Figure 4.

Figure 4: Filled in templates by Koen & Iris

10 Delft Design Approach Syllabus

3.2 How to upload your work is available for anyone watch. While
making a video make sure if there is
There are multiple ways to upload your enough light and that you talk clearly.
work. Please follow the instructions in Worldmap
the assignments. For the final assignment we will also
JPEG ask you to place your work on the
In the self assessment module you can “worldmap”. This edX feature allows
only upload 1 Jpeg (and a URL). You can you to see all contributions from
place all your printed templates next around the world. You can only
to each other and take a photo, or use upload URLs on the worldmap.
a computer image tool to cluster your
templates into one image. Make sure all
text and images are clear and readable.
URL
A link or URL can refer to any online
storage facility that gathers your work
(e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft
Onedrive). Make sure that your files are
accessible for your peers and make sure
your work is available during the full Copyright
run of the course. Only share formats Please only use your own
that are commonly used (e.g. JPEG, PDF, pictures and ideas or use pictures
Word or PNG). with a creative commons license.
For more information: https://
Video
creativecommons.org/licenses/
You could also make a video of your
templates in which you discuss your
output. If you use this possibility make
sure your video has a maximum length
of 3 minutes. If you place your video
file on an online streamer (for example
Youtube or Vimeo) double-check if it

11
3.3 Share your work
If you want to get direct feedback from
your peers in an open conversation we
advise you to share your work on the
discussion forum. The discussion forum
can be found on the edX platform (for
guidelines See chapter 5 Discussion
forum).
3.4 Assessments
Every week we ask you to assess your
work through checklists and/or self-
assessments.
In Table 1 you can find when to perform
which assessment.

Type of assessment c Quiz

(ungraded)
Checklistc Self-
assessment
Peer review c
Week 1 c XX X
Week 2 XX X
Week 3 XX X X
Week 4 XXX X
Week 5 & 6 XXXX X X
Week 7 X X X
Final presentation & Wrap Up X X

Table 1: Assessment per week

12 Delft Design Approach Syllabus

4.
discussion forum
4.1 Guidelines
The discussion forum is an important
tool on the edX platform for you
to share and discuss your insights,
exercises and reflections. It allows
you to learn from your peers (and
allows your peers to learn from you).
In this course, an important part of the
learning happens on the discussion
forum. The forum is all about showing
your work to your peers and inviting
them to give feedback. Sharing on the
Discussion Forum will also give us the
possibility to reflect on your work in the
Sofa Sessions.
We stimulate a positive, constructive
atmosphere. Please attend to the rules
provided below to make this course a
pleasant experience for everyone!
Be respectful to your peers. Please,
show respect to your fellow
participants. We encourage debate
and discussion but only when that
is done in a polite and respectful
manner. We do not tolerate rude
behavior, condescending or abusive
words. Instances will be reported
and removed.
Be constructive in your feedback.
Learning in an online community is
about interacting with each other.
When commenting or providing
feedback on work of others
be constructive and whenever
possible provide suggestions for
improvement.
Be sensitive to your peers’
background and culture. This is
a global forum with participants
from around the world. This means
that your fellow participants come
from very diverse cultures and
backgrounds. Please be sensitive to
this when discussing your own work
or results of others.
Post appropriate content. Content
that violates the Terms of Service
is not permitted. You may not post
inappropriate (eg. pornographic)
or copyrighted content, advertise
or promote outside products or
organizations, or spam the forums
with repeat content.
13
5.
grading and certification
5.1 Grading
The assessment of exercises together
with the final presentation will
determine whether you passed the
course or not (see Figure 5). In total you
will be asked to complete 3 checklists
and 4 self-assessments (including the
final presentation). In order to
successfully pass the course we
encourage you to complete all of them.
Figure 5: Grading versus assessments
14
5.2 Certification
If you are a verified learner, when you
have earned 60% or more of the total
score, you will receive a certificate. You
can see your progress in the Progress
tab on edX.
The verified option is available for $79-.
Doing the course for fun is totally fine,
but sometimes you need to complete a
course to get a better job or to include
in a college application. Besides,
working towards a verified certificate
has proven to keep students more
motivated. If you want to, you can
change your registration on the site.
Delft Design Approach Syllabus
6.
how to get most out of this course
We have designed this course to give
you the opportunity to learn all about
the Delft Design Approach and to apply
what you have learned in a series of
design exercises.
Of course, every participant in this
course has her or his own unique goals
for what they want to get out of it. So,
please spend your time accordingly.
The basic idea is: you will get out of the
course what you put in! If you do the
design exercises and share and discuss
your experiences with your peers, you
will really be able to internalize some of
the design skills that we teach. But that
doesn’t mean that you will not get any
value out of simply watching the videos
and doing some follow-up reading
based on our reading tips.
Here are some tips for the most effective
ways to engage with this course.
Get to know your peers! Share your
experiences and exercise results on
the forum. Post your questions on
the forum as well and discuss them
together.
Look at the exercises at the
beginning of each course week.
That way you will know what to
get out of the video lectures and
additional reading in relation to the
exercises.
Think of the design exercises as
part of a design project in which
you want to design something
valuable for real users rather than
something you turn in for a grade.
To make the design exercises more
focused and close to real life, we
have chosen to work with a design
theme: ‘morning rituals’. You might
want to keep in mind that whatever
you are going to design might
actually improve the morning rituals
of people close to you.
If you get stuck during an exercise,
leave it alone for a while. It is very
normal that designers get stuck from
time to time, and the trick is to find
a strategy that gets you going again.
You might want to watch the video
lecture again or skip forward to the
benchmark video to get inspired.
Or you might want to share your
problem on the forum to discuss it
with your peers. They might have
good suggestions to get going
again!
There are no right or wrong
answers in design, but there may
be more or less valuable and/
15
 or meaningful ideas. In order to If possible follow this course
explain the merits of an idea, together with your colleagues or
it’s important to back it up with friends. Experiences from other
evidence from your field work online courses show that it is
or with an explanation why your very motivating to do the course
idea or concept is valuable to its together.
users. This helps the person giving
Have fun! In this course you have
the feedback to solidify their
the freedom to choose your own
understanding of a concept.
direction. You have the opportunity
Remember that the best way to to design something for a challenge
learn how to design is by designing that you formulate yourself and
things yourself. Going through for a user-group that you choose.
the iterative process of designing is Please don’t do things just because
what makes your design better and we ask you to. Do them because you
your design skills sharper. So take see the value and enjoy creating a
the opportunity to take the methods meaningful design!
and tools that we offer and apply
them in actual design work.
On the forum, give your peers the
kind of constructive feedback that
you would want to receive. Don’t
just point out the negative parts of
someone’s work, but instead provide
suggestions for how he or she
could improve it. Try to both point
out things that are well done and
things that could be improved (and
suggestions for how they might do
that!)

16 Delft Design Approach Syllabus

GOOD LUCK DESIGNING!