Introduction to Social Design Online Short Course

The Introduction to Social Design Online Short Course provides an overview of the field of social design, exploring the ideas and theories behind it, and the ‘how’ of practicing it. The aim of the course is to help students develop an understanding of how to apply a social design approach in their own organisational, professional or personal context. During the course, students have the opportunity to read, reflect on, and debate some current ideas, arguments, controversies and research insights around social design, as well as gaining practical experience of trialling social design methods and practices in relation to a real-world challenge. The course covers a number of topics including the history of social design, key social theories, methods and practice for research and analysis, and ethics in design. By the end of the course, students will have: • Developed a critical understanding of what it means to design for, in and with social contexts and outcomes • Gained some hands-on experience in addressing a social, environmental or systemic challenge with a social design framing and practices • Advanced their understanding of how to apply social design in their own context