A blog about design at the OU.
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Learning to live with artificial intelligences and autonomous technologies
Society is rarely ready for new technologies and AI is no exception. Suddenly AIs seem to be ‘everywhere’, in our work and home lives, in universities, health care systems and even on border patrols. Yet we haven’t deliberated and decided what circumstances AI may be useful; how to govern and regulate them for public benefit; […]
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Six Months of Growth: My Journey as an OU Design Intern
Six Months of Growth: My Journey as an Open University Design Intern As I approach the end of my six-month internship as a Design & Communications intern, I reflect on my journey that has been anything but ordinary. Coming into this as a neurodivergent student, I knew there would be challenges, but I never expected […]
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Campus Life_1: our green spaces
Walton Hall Campus As a 4 nation university we may sometimes forget that we have a central campus in Milton Keynes. Academics, technicians and administrators – the wearers of muddy boots on a building site in the early 1970s – today have the benefit of working in a green and diverse landscape covering 111 acres […]
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Service Design in Practice: Reflections on Co-Teaching for the T190 Module
By Rachel A. Wood & Samantha Osys. Earlier this month, we had the pleasure of co-teaching a session on Service Design in Practice as part of the Open University’s T190 module. As both PhD researchers and service designers, we wanted to offer students a real-world perspective on how service design unfolds in practice. The session […]
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Linley Sambourne and his visualisation techniques
In one of our Level One design modules, U101, students are shown how to create an abstraction from a photograph to communicate a story. It’s a good technique to use, and great for building confidence in visualising ideas. I saw this process played out when visiting the fascinating home of Edward Linley Sambourne (1844-1910) last […]
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Reflections on Mentoring in Design Practice
Once upon a time… when I was a young, carefree designer… many earth cycles ago… I found myself stuck under what they call a “glass ceiling.” I struggled to advance within my organisation until my line manager suggested I get a mentor. At the time, I had no idea what she meant. A quick search […]
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Design at the Sharps End
The smell of oil and grease evokes happy memories of hours teaching in a secondary school engineering work shop, the clatter of tools and low rumble of machinery, familiar and almost homely – but there is another odour, a whiff of ozone, and this is not year seven last period on a wet Wednesday afternoon.
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Design Studio and Project-Based Learning
If you are a design student or educator, chances are that you have experience of and perhaps some strong views about the design studio. The design studio is a place that gives opportunities to students (and tutors) to co-exist: to interact, ask questions, work together, or work side-by-side, and learn from one another: either directly […]
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Designing for Futures
Designing for Futures: Building a Blueprint for Human Potential by Rachel A.Wood. In a world where every moment counts, our early experiences and continuous support shape not only individual destinies but the fabric of our communities. This blog is a tribute to David Farrington’s life course approach and builds upon the ground breaking insights of […]
