OVERVIEW

The course Fundamentals of Design provides the basic tools for the critical reading of the design project and the commonly used tools to approach a design issue. The teaching is contextualized to the fields of product design and nautical design.

Observing things through the eyes of the designer is the key to understand the think of design Masters and to develop one's own design path.

Fundamentals of Design is one of the core subjects of the Course and prepares, through the reading of the project, for the future actions of the designer.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching provides the basic tools and methodology for projects developing, particular attention is given to nautical design and product design. The teaching aims at the reading of existing projects as an indirect learning exercise. At the end of the teaching students will know how to break down an object following rules of shape, logic, material, perception, etc.; to relate the same object to anthropomorphic and anthropological rules; to critically analyse existing projects; and make new design proposals.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching aims to provide the tools to understand the meaning of the basic concepts of design in general and nautical design in particular and to experience the dimension of the design process.

The learning outcomes are framed between understanding the design product and the design gesture. Specifically, at the end of the teaching, students will have developed the following skills and competencies:

- Know how to break down and analyse a product and each of its components

- Understand and evaluate product relationships, shapes and composition

- Know the types, functional groups and emerging parts of a product

- Place and critically analyse a product in a precise historical and social context

- Develop one's imagination and creativity for design purposes

- Elaborate critical reflection and develop strategic thinking about an existing project

- Manage one's social interactions with a collaborative attitude

- Work in a team and communicate constructively in different environments

- Develop critical analytical capacity in the evaluation of existing artefacts and projects

- Choose and use the essential tools useful for future project actions in the Course of study

PREREQUISITES

No specific prerequisites are required to tackle the teaching content.

TEACHING METHODS

The teaching is developed through lectures and individual and group classroom practice activities.

The lessons focus on learning the stages of the design process, ranging from needs analysis to conception and product realization, aim to familiarise students with the general issues of design. The lectures and seminars are complemented in an experimental approach through weekly exercises that aim to develop creativity and the ability to define logical and design processes.

The theoretical-practical exercises are characterised by collective brainstorming sessions, which are followed by the performance of the exercise, individually or in groups depending on the theme. At the end of each exercise, collegial evaluation and self-assessment activities take place in the classroom and the results are publicly presented.

The last part of the teaching is characterised by a final exercise encompassing all the topics addressed during the semester. The meta-project, developed in groups according to an assigned theme, allows the students to put into practice, deepen and interconnect the themes that emerged during the teaching.  Each phase of the meta-project is discussed in the classroom within the working group and with the lecturers through reviews, discussion of progress and project choices that reach greater depth from week to week. The results of the final exercise are displayed through public presentation and collegially discussed in the classroom.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The teaching involves a balance of lectures and theoretical-practical exercises covering the following topics:

- Basic Design

- Design sources and tools

- Typical design methodologies

- The decomposition and reading of an object

- Design contexts

- Prototyping and study models

The course includes an educational trip for the in-depth study of one or more of the topics covered in the classroom.
The detailed contents of Fundamentals of Design are uploaded on the Aulaweb page dedicated to the teaching.
The Aulaweb page is also the tool for weekly communication and updates by the teachers.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

GIULIA ZAPPIA (President)

MARIO ZIGNEGO

GIOVANNA TAGLIASCO (President Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

https://corsi.unige.it/11431/p/studenti-orario

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The interim exercises allow the verification of the candidate's learning path and his growth in the subject.

The oral discussion allows the assessment of the quality of the exposition and the technical terminology used to describe a project process.

The graphical-descriptive exercise evaluates whether the candidate has achieved the expected learning outcomes, i.e. to read and critically analyse a design product.

Exam schedule