MMD 301 | Course Introduction and Application Information - Department of Visual Communication Design

Course Name

Design Studio III

Code	Semester	Theory (hour/week)	Application/Lab (hour/week)	Local Credits	ECTS
MMD 301	Fall	2	6	5	10

Prerequisites	None
Course Language	English
Course Type	Required
Course Level	First Cycle
Mode of Delivery	-
Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course	Discussion Group Work Problem Solving Case Study Q&A Critical feedback Jury Field trip / Observation Application: Experiment / Laboratory / Workshop Lecture / Presentation
National Occupation Classification	-
Course Coordinator	Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Daniele SAVASTA
Course Lecturer(s)	Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Daniele SAVASTA Öğr.Gör.Dr. AHMET TUNÇ KAÇAR
Assistant(s)	Arş.Gör. BEYZA CENNET BATIR

Course Objectives	The aim of this course is to guide students through an individual and collective practice of digital design. It consists of two medium scale practice based projects that address skills inclusive of visual research, analysis, methodology, aesthetics, materials, context, audience, prototyping, proofing, exhibiting and a warm-up project to make them familiar with design in time and with interaction. Students develop strategies and solutions that give form to print, screen and built or three dimensional environment. Students are expected to produce high quality creative outcomes and provide formal and conceptual solutions to open ended briefs.
Learning Outcomes	The students who succeeded in this course; Generate a body of original visual research using established or self-designed methodologies. Use categorization and classification methods to organize visual research in accordance with a clearly defined criteria. Apply problematization skills for generating design solutions from research. Develop individual strategies for work management and self-motivation. Evaluate and select appropriate media for prototyping and outputting a range of designs. Critically reflect on and document the development of their own designs, using methods such as blogs and sketchbooks. Exhibit final designs with a high degree of craftsmanship.
Course Description	Design Studio III is a practice based studio course designed to strengthen the ability of students to develop and apply visual methodologies in designing for today’s society. The studio introduces practices in relation to the fields of interaction design, coding poetics, generative typography, mobile application design and services. The studio consists of a constant design practice and collective critics. Given assignments are either directly related to the main projects or supporting a specific knowledge required within one of the projects. Lectures, workshops and independent study as well as invited expert guests enrich the personal development and guide the apprentice designers in their work. With a dialogic and participatory approach to the studio, students are required to proceed independently in their work and be open for its discussion and development in each class.
Related Sustainable Development Goals

Course Category	Core Courses	X
	Major Area Courses
	Supportive Courses
	Media and Management Skills Courses
	Transferable Skill Courses

Week	Subjects	Related Preparation
1	Project 0: Introduction to Coding, p5.js experiments	Project updates; Shiffman, Fry & Marsh (2012), Introduction + Ch. 1 "Vectors"
2	Project 0: Development, Presentation	Project updates; Shiffman, Fry & Marsh (2012), Ch. 2 "Forces"
3	Project 1: Do things with games, Concepts, Storytelling	Project updates; Bogost (2011), Chs. 1–2; Schell (2020), Chs. 1–4 ("The Designer," "The Experience," "The Game," "The Elements")
4	Project 1: MDA, Worldbuilding	Project updates; Hunicke, LeBlanc & Zubek (2004), full paper; Schell (2020), chapters on Elements, Theme and Worlds
5	Project 1: Mid Crit, Assets	Project updates; Brathwaite & Schreiber (2009), Ch. 1 "The Basics" and Ch. 2 "Game Design Atoms"
6	Project 1: Game Flow, Cinematics	Project updates; Schell (2020), chapters on Interest Curves, Story, and Indirect Control
7	Project 1: Interface, Identity and Documentation	Project updates; Brathwaite & Schreiber (2009), "Creating a User Interface" (Special Topics); Tidwell, Brewer & Valencia (2020), Ch. 1 "Designing for People"
8	Midterm	Project updates; Fullerton (2024), chapters on prototyping and playtesting
9	Project 1: Final Crit, Project 2: Launch	Project updates
10	Project 2: Intro to Figma, Concept	Project updates; Tidwell, Brewer & Valencia (2020), Ch. 1 "Designing for People" and Ch. 2 "Organizing the Content"
11	Project 2: Research, Development	Project updates; Tidwell, Brewer & Valencia (2020), Ch. 3 "Getting Around: Navigation, Signposts, and Wayfinding"; Fullerton (2024), playtesting methods applied to usability research
12	Project 2: Deliverables, Mid Crit	Project updates; Tidwell, Brewer & Valencia (2020), Ch. 4 "Layout of Screen Elements" and Ch. 5 "Visual Style and Aesthetics"
13	Project 2: Implementation, Development	Project updates; Tidwell, Brewer & Valencia (2020), Ch. 6 "Mobile Interfaces," Ch. 8 "Doing Things: Actions and Commands," Ch. 10 "Getting Input from Users: Forms and Controls"
14	Project 2: Review and Documentation, Pre-Crit	Project updates; Tidwell, Brewer & Valencia (2020), Ch. 11 "User Interface Systems and Atomic Design"
15	Project 2: Finalization, Final Crit	Project updates
16	Evaluation

Course Notes/Textbooks

Tidwell, J., Brewer, C., & Valencia, A. (2020). Designing interfaces: Patterns for effective interaction design (3. baskı). O'Reilly Media.
Levin, G., & Brain, T. (2021). Code as creative medium: A handbook for computational art and design. MIT Press.
Bogost, I. (2011). How to do things with videogames. University of Minnesota Press.
Schell, J. (2020). The art of game design: A book of lenses (3. baskı). CRC Press.
Brathwaite, B., & Schreiber, I. (2009). Challenges for game designers: Non-digital exercises for video game designers.

Suggested Readings/Materials

Shiffman, D., Fry, S. ve Marsh, Z. (2012). The nature of code. Amerika Birleşik Devletleri: D. Shiffman.
Hunicke, R., LeBlanc, M., & Zubek, R. (2004). MDA: A formal approach to game design and game research. Game AI Çalıştay Bildirileri (Cilt 4, No. 1).
Fullerton, T. (2024). Game design workshop: A playcentric approach to creating innovative games (5. baskı). CRC Press.
Salen, K., & Zimmerman, E. (2004). Rules of play: Game design fundamentals. MIT Press.
Further resources will be provided during the course hours.

Semester Activities	Number	Weigthing
Participation	1	20
Laboratory / Application
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
Portfolio
Homework / Assignments
Presentation / Jury	-	-
Project	1	80
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exams
Midterm
Final Exam
Total

Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade	4	100
Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade
Total

Semester Activities	Number	Duration (Hours)	Workload
Theoretical Course Hours (Including exam week: 16 x total hours)	16	2	32
Laboratory / Application Hours	16	6	96
Study Hours Out of Class			0
Field Work			0
Quizzes / Studio Critiques			0
Portfolio			0
Homework / Assignments	-	-	0
Presentation / Jury	-		0
Project	3	58	174
Seminar / Workshop			0
Oral Exam			0
Midterms			0
Final Exam			0
		Total	302

#	Program Competencies/Outcomes	* Contribution Level
#	Program Competencies/Outcomes	1	2	3	4	5
1	To be able to apply the fundamental principles of design in creating visual narratives and messages, using physical and digital media,	-	-	-	X	-
2	To attain complex problem-solving skills, using various design methods,	-	-	-	X	-
3	To have a clear understanding of creative/art direction,	-	-	X	-	-
4	To be able to use the advanced theoretical and applied knowledge attained in the areas of Visual Communication Design,	-	-	-	X	-
5	To act with social and ethical awareness and to take responsibility, both individually and collectively, for developing aesthetic and effective design solutions,	-	X	-	-	-
6	To be able to investigate, interpret and evaluate the developments on Visual Communication Design in the world and in Turkey,	-	X	-	-	-
7	To have an advanced level of knowledge and experience in producing/editing still and moving images,	-	-	X	-	-
8	To attain proficiency in using related software, media, and communication technologies,	-	-	-	-	-
9	To gain reflexive and critical thinking abilities,	-	X	-	-	-
10	To undertake self-directed and continuous education in the discipline, to develop a lifelong learning attitude,	X	-	-	-	-
11	To be able to collect data in the areas of Visual Communication Design and communicate with colleagues in a foreign language ("European Language Portfolio Global Scale", Level B1),	-	-	-	-	-
12	To be able to speak a second foreign at a medium level of fluency efficiently,	-	-	-	-	-
13	To be able to relate the knowledge accumulated throughout human history to their field of expertise.	-	-	-	-	-