Course description
Introduction to Product Design: from Problem to Prototype
Do you want to learn how to design? The design course in Delft is known worldwide and with their design approach you learn how to design useful and user-friendly products and services. Step by step, this online course introduces you to this way of designing.
In every step of the design process you will be explained how to approach it. That is typical of design education at TU Delft: there is a method available for every step that can help you. So you don't necessarily have to be super creative (you can) or have knowledge of design methods. It can help if you have some basic knowledge about design – maybe you have the Research & Design course or something similar – or have designed something yourself.
The design approach you learn in this course helps you to understand what users need and thus arrive at a useful and user-friendly product. Meaningful, that is also called in Delft. In addition to experiencing the design process yourself, this course also helps you to reflect on your work with the help of TU Delft students and teachers.
The original, English version of this course received the 2015 Open Education Award for Excellence in the category 'Open MOOC' by the Open Education Consortium.
Upcoming start dates
Suitability - Who should attend?
Prerequisites
- Target group: Students aged 12-15 and their (technique) teachers.
- Some experience in designing something (even if it's for yourself) can be helpful.
Outcome / Qualification etc.
What you'll learn
- How to research what users do, want and can do;
- How to translate what you learn from users into a design challenge that fuels your creativity;
- How to create a design that solves your challenge;
- How to build a simple prototype to do a user test;
- How to evaluate and present your design.
Training Course Content
You can follow this course at your own pace and it consists of 5 steps. You can do most of the steps in about a week, except for step 4, which takes about two weeks.
The box is organized as follows:
Step 1: Learning from users
- How can you discover what other people need and how you could improve their lives?
Step 2: Define a design question
- How do you define what to design? What is the user's problem and when do you consider your design to be successful?
Step 3: Come up with ideas
- How do you come up with ideas?
- How can you combine and select promising ideas?
Step 4: Develop concepts and build a simple prototype
- What is a design concept and how do you develop it?
- How do you choose from your concepts - you make several - the right one?
- How do you build a simple prototype to test your design with users?
Step 5: User test and final presentations
- How do you test a design with users?
- How do you present a concept to others?
Course delivery details
This course is offered through Delft University of Technology, a partner institute of EdX.
4-6 hours per week