The module is presented online in four blocks. Each block corresponds to different levels at which design thinking can impact our lives: the individual, group, social, and global levels. You’ll have practical activities, skills development, and academic coursework to do each week, and you'll have the freedom to manage your own learning.
Central to the module is an online virtual design studio, OpenDesignStudio, where you’ll upload your work – using images you’ve created – to discuss with other students and your tutor. Learning to use the expertise of others is a vital part of design thinking and is encouraged in the design studio environment. Throughout the module, you’ll be prompted to engage with the world around you; formulate and solve design problems relevant to your own life; and participate in the U101 community of design thinkers.
Block 1: Design and the individual
The first part of the module introduces some basic skills to begin your creative work: taking and uploading digital photographs, composition, basic drawing and observation. It will introduce you to Compendium, a software tool with which you can record and link together different types of information in a digital map. It will also introduce you to the OpenDesignStudio environment, where you’ll upload your work and be able to see the work of others as you work through the course. Along with your skill development, there is academic study: introducing you to the world of design and design thinking through text, audio, video and multimedia. You’ll see interviews with design practitioners and case studies of their work. As you work through the block, you’ll carry out a sequence of activities leading up to your first assessed design project: a T-shirt design.
Block 2: Designing for others and with others
In the second block, the focus shifts to designing for other people. You’ll investigate what types of design make other people happy and try ways to feel and simulate what it’s like to experience what other people do. You’ll practise making and presenting prototypes – crucial in design thinking – and learn how to ‘frame’ a problem and recognise a good solution. This block is not only about designing for others but also about designing with others. Knowing how and when to use the knowledge of others is extremely useful in designing. As part of your assessed design project for this block, you’ll use other people to help you explore a problem and generate creative ideas in response. For your project in this block, you’ll propose a modified or new product and communicate your idea through a prototype.
Block 3: Design in society
Block 3 looks at how design can impact society through services and systems such as housing, planning, health, transport and recycling. You’ll gain an understanding of the factors influencing change in a society and of how they apply to your local context. And you’ll learn how to search for information, observe, map, and analyse complex environments. In your online study, you’ll see several case studies where design has made a significant impact at the societal level. For your design project, you’ll design, produce, and test a game based on a service you’ve studied.
Block 4: The global impact of design
When the full context of design is considered, we must consider how design thinking can have a global impact. This final part of the module combines all the skills you’ve learned in previous blocks to teach you how to integrate them all, balancing people, processes and materials, through the design process. You’ll look at the global context of design and consider the ethical implications of what design thinking can achieve. In the final design project assessment, you’ll pursue your design thinking inquiry around a specific global theme, leading to you designing a way to communicate the results of your investigation.
At the end of the module, you’ll be able to identify the characteristics of design thinking and how it differs from other types of thinking. You’ll be aware of the value of design thinking and how it can be applied in various contexts, from the personal to the global.
On a more practical level, you’ll learn how to investigate and think creatively about design problems and opportunities; integrate different styles of thinking in a design process; and explore, evaluate and critique the design thinking of others. You’ll also discover how an attitude of playfulness can aid design thinking and addressing complex real-world problems and challenges.
The module has a large online element, and by exploring the different environments it offers, you’ll learn about the creative possibilities of working online. You’ll also learn how to identify and use expertise through social networking.
You can apply design thinking to a wide range of contexts, from the personal to the business sphere. It can help you creatively engage with a problem in almost any discipline. Design thinking (U101) is, therefore, a module that has vocational relevance equally in the creative industries, business, and the creative economy more generally. The module is designed as a foundation for future study in design at The Open University, but will also provide a foundation in design should you be considering studying design elsewhere.
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
Each assignment is a design project communicated using concept-mapping software.
You’ll have access to a module website, which includes:
Additionally, the website includes:
We also provide physical:
You can study this module on its own or use the credits you gain towards an Open University qualification.
U101 is a compulsory module in our:
U101 is an option module in our:
Design thinking: creativity for the 21st century (U101) starts twice a year – in October and January/February.
It will next start in October 2026 and January 2027.
We expect it to start for the last time in February 2030.
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
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