Designing courses in industrial design with particular reference to the role of undergraduate projects

Abstract

© 1993 Dr. Elivio BonolloIn this thesis the design of courses in Industrial design has been investigated with particular reference to the role of undergraduate design projects and with due regard to the attitudes, knowledge and skills expected of industrial designers. This investigation has been set in the context of a final-year, degree programme in industrial design which had a substantial project content to prepare the new graduates for employment as professional designers. From a critical review of the relevant literature, the characteristics of the industrial design discipline have been identified and a novel theoretical framework established for investigating the design of tertiary courses in industrial design, having in mind related engineering design methodology. An investigation into the role of industry-based, design projects in the educational process of transforming student designers into competent professionals has been carried out, and criteria and guidelines for the successful conduct and evaluation of such projects have been set up