Course Meeting Times:
Seminar: 1.5 hrs / session; 2 sessions / week
Prerequisites:
None
Course Description
The Civic Media Codesign Studio is a project-based studio course in collaborative design of civic media. Students work with a range of organizations to create civic media projects grounded in real-world community needs. It covers theory and practice of codesign, including methods for community participation in iterative stages of project ideation, design, prototyping, testing, launch, and stewardship. This semester, the course will focus on building systems of collaboration between municipal government and local care networks to facilitate effective co-reation of policy.
Projects from this course has spun off into the People’s Collaborative Governance Network.
Course Goals
Students who take this course will be able to:
- Gain skills in participatory design research
- Develop a practical understanding of theories of governance
- Understand and articulate key principles of codesign
- Demonstrate knowledge of the history, actors, trends, and critiques of codesign methods
- Apply theoretical and practical tools of codesign in a real-world partnership
- Effectively choose and use project management tools to facilitate collaborative work in diverse teams
- Make concrete contributions to the development of a real-world media project that is grounded in the needs of a community partner
Grading
| Assignments | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Participation | 20% |
| Problem Definition | 5% |
| Journal | 25% |
| Project Proposal | 20% |
| Final Presentation | 10% |
| Design Book | 20% |
Participation: This is assessed by attendance, participation in class discussion and activity, and work with partners.
Problem Definition: Answer questions on a worksheet.
Journal: The design journal is a documentation of your process, from thought to prototyping. It should include visual and verbal documentation of research, development, and thinking. Each week, you should respond to any reading, conversation, or other input, and reflect on how it has changed your perspective.
Project Proposal: This is a group assignment that will take the form of a written document and a presentation. The following sections should be included in the written document:
- Introduction and problem statement
- Literature review
- Design philosophy
- Proposed methods
- Limitations
Presentations should be approximately 10 minutes long and tell a compelling story about your project.
Final Presentation: Prototypes should be documented in an appropriate form (website, video, etc.). Presentations should tell the story of the process and outcome.
Design Book: The design book is the documentation of your process from beginning to end. This can take the form of a website, a book, or anything else that represents your process. Design books should tell a compelling story about how you arrived at your completed prototype, and document all the important decision points along the way.
