Overview
Key facts
The Culture Sensitive Design programme is offered by the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft).
Could a valuable (and healthy) innovative idea, such as the use of hot air technology to fry food be adopted worldwide? Can indigenous patterns and other forms of native art be used to decorate products regardless of their context and meaning? Can the way we look at and compare cultural differences and practices be a source of inspiration in product and service design?
Learning outcomes
This course will take participants beyond the obvious into the unexplored. It will expand their view and move their research from the realm of the traditional user-product environment into the cultural context. Cultural sensitivity will help, not only to avoid mismatches between designs and intended users, but it will also prove a great source of inspiration and opportunities for new product design.
This course is geared towards working design professionals who want to gain insight into why culture is relevant for their work, through what lens they can study culture and how they can examine culture and apply the results to their work.
You will learn to:
- Identify culture and its role, both from a personal and professional perspective.
- Recognize and understand cultural terms.
- Reflect on the influence of culture on individual and collective identity.
- Provide personal examples of the terms used during the course.
- Determine opportunities for applying culture as a tool while designing.
- Integrate cultural tools and theory into a design project.
- Judge the use of the cultural approach in other projects.
Mutual Benefit Approach
This online course is designed for 20 design practitioners, who will be joined by 30 masters design students from TU Delft.
The course will give you, as a working professional, the opportunity to learn and benefit from these masters students' work; their reflections on design, their application of the theory provided and their use of a range of methods. Furthermore, you can even save time in your practice as we offer you the opportunity of pitching a design challenge that our masters students may choose to work with during the course. In addition, their fresh view on 'what design can do' in their own assignments will help you to discover new possibilities for new product and service design. Our course team will also provide you with feedback and answer all your questions.
Programme Structure
Week 1: Getting to Know Culture
- Culture in design and framing culture
- Guest interview on acculturation
- Assignment: Key terms we use to describe and understand culture
Week 2 and 3: Culture and Identity
- Culture and identity
- Third Culture Kids
- Guest lecture on game design research
- Guest interview on cultural sensitivity and third culture kids
- Two assignments: timeline and key terms
Week 4 and 5: Cultural values and practices
- Guest lecture on value and value conflicts
- Cultural values and practices
- Culture sensitive design in practice
- Designers' identity
- Guest interview on cultural values in the design practice
- Assignment: Design company culture
Week 6 and the holiday period:
- Pitching your design project
- Guest interview on the global design practice
- Interaction and feedback with students online
Week 7:
- Final presentations on students' design projects
- Wrap-up together with students
Key information
Duration
- Part-time
- 2 months
Start dates & application deadlines
Starts: Future dates to be announced
Language
Delivered
Disciplines
Design Area & Cultural StudiesAcademic requirements
We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.
English requirements
We are not aware of any English requirements for this programme.
Other requirements
General requirements
- you have relevant background and experience in product or service design
- you are a hands-on designer, or, as a design researcher you are working for a studio, a company, or other organization
- you are not a student.
Tuition Fee
-
International
695 EUR/fullTuition FeeBased on the tuition of 695 EUR for the full programme during 2 months. -
EU/EEA
695 EUR/fullTuition FeeBased on the tuition of 695 EUR for the full programme during 2 months.