School of Engineering and Informatics (for staff and students)

Thinking Big: The 5 Senses (H7108)

Thinking Big: The 5 Senses

Module H7108

Module details for 2024/25.

15 credits

FHEQ Level 6

Module Outline

This module will offer a unique and interdisciplinary perspective on how to design novel experiences (interactive experiences) with products. Students will recognise the rich potential of the human senses (vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell) for designing the interaction with the product exploiting and creating novel experiences based on specific design briefs (e.g., brief for the 1st edition focuses on “Spatial Design for Food Experiences” – engaging students in the design of physical objects involved in the experience of eating, such as cutlery, plates, tables, rooms – restaurants vs home).

To cover the interdisciplinary perspective the module will invite "guest lecturer", experts in their field, in order to ensure a broad perspective on the human senses and their relevance for product design emphasising multisensory experience design. In addition, the students will obtain a variety of skills including ideation techniques in-situ (e.g., contextual enquiries, situated bodystorming), user research methods (e.g., ethnographic methods), and video production skills for professional design presentations.

The main goals of the module are:
- confront students with a real world design problem
- apply experience-centred design methodology
- exploit the opportunities to design for the 5 senses individually and combinations of them to enhance people’s experiences with products and their environment
- teach students how to best communicate their design solutions to the stakeholders, especially fostering their presentation skills through the use of digital media (e.g., video production)

Module learning outcomes

Demonstrate systematic understanding of some of the latest developments in multisensory research and its exploitability for product / experience design

Put theoretical concepts into practice based on a specific real-world problem / design brief

Apply innovative, creative and interdisciplinary design and research methods

Communicate design solutions effectively through digital media / audio-visual tools to both specialist and non-specialist audiences

TypeTimingWeighting
Coursework100.00%
Coursework components. Weighted as shown below.
PresentationT2 Week 2 30.00%
PortfolioT2 Week 4 70.00%
Timing

Submission deadlines may vary for different types of assignment/groups of students.

Weighting

Coursework components (if listed) total 100% of the overall coursework weighting value.

TermMethodDurationWeek pattern
Spring SemesterSeminar8 hours55000000000

How to read the week pattern

The numbers indicate the weeks of the term and how many events take place each week.

Miss Claire Potter

Assess convenor
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The University reserves the right to make changes to the contents or methods of delivery of, or to discontinue, merge or combine modules, if such action is reasonably considered necessary by the University. If there are not sufficient student numbers to make a module viable, the University reserves the right to cancel such a module. If the University withdraws or discontinues a module, it will use its reasonable endeavours to provide a suitable alternative module.

School of Engineering and Informatics (for staff and students)

School Office:
School of Engineering and Informatics, , Chichester 1 Room 002, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QJ
ei@sussex.ac.uk
T 01273 (67) 8195

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