ID426 DESIGN, AESTHETICS AND TECHNOLOGY
| Course Code: | 1250426 |
| METU Credit (Theoretical-Laboratory hours/week): | 3 (3.00 - 0.00) |
| ECTS Credit: | 5.0 |
| Department: | Industrial Design |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Study: | Undergraduate |
| Course Coordinator: | Lecturer CEMRE SU KAVALALI |
| Offered Semester: | Fall and Spring Semesters. |
Course Objectives
The course aims to enable students to:
• Develop a foundational understanding of aesthetics in relation to both philosophy and design practice.
• Recognize both the differences and common aspects of design aesthetics and philosophical aesthetics.
• Analyze the concepts of the good, the beautiful, and the aesthetically desirable within diverse cultural and technological contexts.
• Differentiate sensation from perception, particularly in the analysis of interaction aesthetics and multisensory design.
• Identify the relationships between desire, taste and design relations through technological mediation. Investigate how desire and taste are shaped by technological systems and aesthetic strategies in design.
• Differentiate perceptual experience from aesthetic experience by examining how technologies (such as screens, interfaces, VR/AR) mediate perception and meaning.
• Understand how the interplay of sensory modalities (sight, sound, touch, motion, etc.) creates layered aesthetic experiences in digital and physical products.
• Understand the intersections of the senses and how they contribute to different aesthetic experiences.
• Critically engage with the aesthetic dimensions of design objects and systems, with attention to how they are shaped by evolving conceptions of technology, the body, and sensory experience.
Course Content
A historical and critical overview of aesthetics from philosophical, artistic and design perspectives; examination of classical theories of art and perception; conceptual divergence and convergence of art and design across historical periods; investigation of how sensory experience, perception and aesthetic judgment are mediated by media and technological systems; discussion of sensation vs. perception and aesthetic vs. perceptual experience; focus on multisensory design İn industrial contexts; analysis of digital media, artificial İntelligence, immersive environments and İnteractive systems as tools, collaborators or cocreators in aesthetic production; case studies, workshops and design critiques leading to a final project on technologically mediated aesthetic experience.
Course Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course, students are expected to be able to:
• Identify a product’s impact on user in terms of aesthetics.
• Use technology as a tool for aesthetic experiences.
• Have critical thinking on concepts’ relations in terms of aesthetics, art and design.
• Develop and identify relations between senses and perceptions.
• Use technology to enhance aesthetic experiences (either sensual or perceptual) of user.
Program Outcomes Matrix
| Level of Contribution | |||||
| # | Program Outcomes | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1 | Creative problem definition, developing solution-oriented ideas, critical thinking and creating solution proposals by synthesizing the knowledge gained | ✔ | |||
| 2 | Planning, managing and conducting the design process | ✔ | |||
| 3 | Planning and carrying out design-oriented research and transferring the results to the design process | ✔ | |||
| 4 | Thinking with basic design and visual organization elements and principles and being able to apply ideas in two and three dimensions | ✔ | |||
| 5 | Identifying the user's needs, predicting their expectations and integrating them into the design process | ✔ | |||
| 6 | Ability to work individually and to conduct team-work | ✔ | |||
| 7 | Understanding the relationship of the Industrial Design field with different disciplines and being able to carry out interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary studies | ✔ | |||
| 8 | Ability to communicate in international mediums using a foreign language and follow the professional agenda | ✔ | |||
| 9 | Developing an independent, lifelong learning approach by being aware of the ever-changing contexts of design | ✔ | |||
| 10 | Being aware of the socio-cultural, socio-economic and environmental context in design and considering the benefit of society and the environment | ✔ | |||
| 11 | Ability to interpret the issues related to art and culture affecting the historical development of industrial design on the local and global scale | ✔ | |||
| 12 | Having knowledge about business models, ethical principles, and laws and regulations that should be followed in professional practice | ✔ | |||
| 13 | Knowing the materials and production technology within the scope of Industrial Design and using them in the design process | ✔ | |||
| 14 | Having command of technological developments in the field of industrial design, being able to use the necessary technological tools | ✔ | |||
| 15 | Being able to present design ideas and solutions with relevant communication tools and methods | ✔ | |||
0: No Contribution 1: Little Contribution 2: Partial Contribution 3: Full Contribution