BA Thesis Concept Seminar 2021
- Joëlle Bitton
BA concept seminar structure:
Lecturers:
Dr. Joëlle Bitton
Prof. Jürgen Späth
Guest lecturer:
Nicole Foelsterl
Office hours by appointment
- The module takes place over 2 weeks, from 11.01.20 to 22.01.20, from Monday to Friday, 9.00-17.00 in various rooms - see intranet for details.
Class sessions include lectures, discussions, mentoring sessions, in-class exercises, assignments and independent study blocks.
Projects are conducted individually or with team of two students at most.
(1) Overview and Objectives
Students will develop a conceptual and practical exploration for their final BA thesis and present the experience they aim to create in the form of a 3-page project description, a blog documenting the 2-weeks progress, a prototype/mock-up showing the core aspects of the interactive experience they are aiming to create and a video showcasing the prototype in use.
The concept seminar addresses notions in preparation for their final thesis work:
- what does it mean to make a statement and a contribution to the field of interaction design?
- how to identify the design, social and experiential opportunities within the topic of interest?
- how to define a space of potential design explorations?
- how to narrow down the topic following own personal positioning, approach and interests?
- how to present the desired embodied experience that the BA thesis should engender?
(2) Course Outline
The 2 weeks are divided into two parts: an investigative week with quick exercises and iterations, and a second week where students can advance their prototype, engage in field or test study and summarise their BA idea and related experience in a video.
See below for a detailed calendar.
(3) Expectations and Grading
Grades will be based on class participation, documentation (journal) and final work.
Contributing to constructive group feedback is an essential aspect of class participation.
Regular attendance is required. Two or more unexcused absences will affect the final grade. Arriving late on more than one occasion will also affect the grade.
Storytelling (video) 30%
Mock up 20%
Project Description 20%
Exercises & Class participation 20%
Journal Documentation 10%
Any assignment that remains unfulfilled receives a failing grade.
(5) Deliverables
- Storytelling
The experience you want to create should be presented in a video format.
- Prototype/Mock-up
The mock up is the manifestation of your ideas into a service, a product, a method, a user's experience, etc.
- Project Description
This 3-page text should answer the following questions :
- what is the context, topic, problem?
- who is your audience / participants?
- who will be touched by your design (which people/animals/plants, which locations, which systems, which ecologies)?
- what do you want to create and how it should work?
- what values and potential do you want to address / generate?
The essay expands the thesis disposition with observations and conclusions drawn from the two weeks BA concept seminar.
You may use a diversity of sources and bibliography (classified by genre: book, book chapter, journal article, conference article, academic thesis, newspaper article, web article, etc).
- Journal/Blog
A separate 'Journal' is developed by each student that reflects on learnings from the seminar. It should be in the form of an online blog (ie. WordPress, Tumblr or other):
- The journal should be structured in a generally comprehensible manner (in the first week the structure will be provided by the course through the exercises)
- The lecture notes, including annotations, are stored
- Notes, sketches for each lesson should be included as well.
Deliverables to be uploaded on the server by Monday 25.1 at 9.00.
Choice of mentor teams to be sent to Marcial via email by Thursday 21.1 afternoon.
Calendar
See description of exercises below
| Week 1 | Monday 11.1 | Tuesday 12.1 | Wednesday 13.1 | Thursday 14.1 | Friday 15.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning 9.00 - 12.00 (unless otherwise noted) | Brief Introduction about the module and quick keywords round Exercise 1: 20 ways of description | Develop further topic area | Exercise 3: Design Area | Input - storytelling | Develop further design area |
| Afternoon 13.00 - 17.00 | Exercise 2: Topic Area | Mentoring on request (js) | 15.00 Quick round design area | Develop further design area | Exercise 4: 10 ways of manifestation |
| Week 2 | Monday 18.1 | Tuesday 19.1 | Wednesday 20.1 | Thursday 21.1 | Friday 22.1 |
| Morning 9.00 - 12.00 | Field / | Field / Practice Study | Mentoring storytelling | Mentoring on request (js) | Final Presentations: |
| Afternoon 13.00 - 17.00 | Mentoring on request (jb) | Field / Practice Study |
Exercises
Exercise 1: 20 ways of description
Write down and/or sketch out twenty ways to define your topics on post its and later sort them into categories we found fitting. Define two or three most important statements.
Exercise 2: Topic Area
Define the all the qualities, parameters and values that are important for the topic and your ambition as a designer. Find the most relevant existing projects that match your criteria (it could be a particular aspect of a project). Use sketches, photos or collages to present projects on your topic area.
Exercise 3: Design Area
Identify the two or three most important dimensions of your topic area. This will be your design area. Sketch quickly 50 ideas to populate your design area. Place them on your design area in relation to criteria and parameters (sketches, photos or collages).
Exercise 4: 10 ways of manifestation
Select 10 ways of executing your ideas and exhibiting them.