Course detail
Design for Social Change 1
FaVU-2-D-DPSZ1Acad. year: 2025/2026
The course focuses on designing products and services with the aim of addressing complex contemporary issues. It reflects on the principles of design thinking, human-centered design, the concept of social design, theory of change, and contemporary design methodologies. Students will apply these approaches through team-based practical projects. Emphasis will be placed on mastering principles of managing interdisciplinary teamwork, identifying user needs, and utilizing expert knowledge in the development of products and services that foster positive social change.
Language of instruction
Number of ECTS credits
Mode of study
Guarantor
Department
Entry knowledge
An interest in design with socially beneficial goals, in team-based and/or interdisciplinary design practice, and in practices not primarily oriented toward profit generation. Content knowledge from Methodology of the Design Process 1 and Methodology of the Design Process 2.
Rules for evaluation and completion of the course
To receive credit, students must actively participate in solving a team project during the semester.
Students will receive formative verbal feedback on their project work.
Aims
The aim of the course is to practice addressing complex problems in the process of designing products and services with positive societal impact.
After completing the course, students should be able to:
- navigate current forms of design practice that target social change;
- have an overview of different ways of organizing interdisciplinary teamwork;
- possess extended knowledge of design thinking, human-centered design principles, the concept of social design, theory of change, and contemporary design methodologies;
- identify stakeholders in “no-client” design practice;
- map complex problems and the needs of stakeholders through own research activities.
Study aids
Prerequisites and corequisites
Basic literature
Manzini, Ezio. 2015. Design When Everybody Designs: An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (EN)
ROSNER, DANIELA K. CRITICAL FABULATIONS: Reworking the Methods and Margins of Design. MIT PRESS, 2020.
Recommended reading
Escobar, Arturo. 2018. Designs for the Pluriverse. Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds. Durham: Duke University Press.
Grove, Kevin. 2018. Resilience. London: Routledge.
Lönngren, Johanna, and Katrien van Poeck. “Wicked Problems: A Mapping Review of the Literature.” International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 28, no. 6 (August 18, 2021): 481–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2020.1859415.
Rittel, H.W.J., Webber, M.M. Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sci 4, 155–169 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01405730
Wheatley, Margaret. 2006. Leadership and The New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World. San Francisco:Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Classification of course in study plans
- Programme DES_M Master's 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory
1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory
1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory
1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory
Type of course unit
Lecture
Teacher / Lecturer
Syllabus
- Introduction to the course
- The role of designers in contemporary society
- Contemporary complex problems: how to deal with complexity
- The concept of social design: designers in public administration and non-profit sector
Seminar
Teacher / Lecturer
Syllabus
- Formulating topics for team projects
- Mapping complex problems
- Designing research
- Framing problems
- Identifying opportunities for interventions
Exercise
Teacher / Lecturer
Syllabus
- Roles in an interdisciplinary team; team communication and organization
- Research interviews with experts
- Analyzing data from research activities