Introductory description

Service and UX design are rapidly expanding industries which increasingly are demanding versed designers who can contribute to impactful solutions from an interdisciplinary perspective. As such designers who can navigate complexity and embrace digital conceptualisation are more sought after than ever. Regardless, if we look towards the education sector, NHS, banking, the immigration system or local government, the demand for ethical and considered design is at an all time high. This module will introduce students to the distinct yet overlapping disciplines of Service and UX Design from a digital development angle. Students will be learning about common and emerging research and processes from the industry through live brief which will guide their learning journey form research concept to realisation. This module will challenge students to use design methods to conceptually and visually capture the social paradigm of designing and how to navigate the needs of diverse groups who might have been at mismatch in current systems. Students will be developing and proposing a UX digital or hybrid solution to a service problem.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Intro to UX and Service Design - navigating life through the micro/ meso and macro.
How to research with and for people? The social paradigm of designing.
Navigating bias - design mismatch and current UX / Service landscapes.
Problem framing - the Social Design paradigm.
UX / Service process and digital sense-making.
Proposal, Pitch and Showcase.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Understand diverse design thinking processes related to UX and Service Design.
• Understand how to research and design for people with diverse needs.
• Understand how designing happens in social contexts.
• Understand the role of bias and inequality in design.
• Describe and critically evaluate designs from a multi-stakeholder perspective.

Indicative reading list

https://rl.talis.com/3/warwick/lists/607A64A3-56E0-FED1-0083-806139244206.html?lang=en&login=1

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Research element

Students will be undertaking research on a multi-stakeholder level and will be testing their concepts with a target audience. This module will introduce them to an ethics form in the introductory part of the learning journey.

Interdisciplinary

This module is entirely interdisciplinary as all modules in Design Studies - direct links to UX, UI, service design, anthropology, spatial studies, design thinking, digital ethnography, and critical studies - just to name a few.

International

This module will provide an international array of contributors and authors to encourage students to undertake holistic learning from multiple perspectives.

Subject specific skills

Accessing, evaluating, synthesising and applying knowledge for specific design challenges.
Participating in group discussions, design activities and reflections.
Facilitating and leading group discussions, design activities and reflections.
Doing design studies (descriptive, analytical, creative).
Communicating design studies in a range of formats, synchronously and asynchronously, to a wide range of audiences.
Creating and using a personal portfolio of studies, notes and reflections.
Digital UX and UI prototyping.
Understanding of the micro/meso and macro sphere of innovation for service design.
Apply social design methods to UX and service for ethical processes.

Transferable skills

All of the above are transferable.
In addition, advanced digital skills including collaborative whiteboards, setting up and running online collaborations, visualisation and planning tools and project management tools.