Course detail

Design for Social Change 2

FaVU-2-D-DPSZ2Acad. year: 2025/2026

The course Design for Social Change 2 builds on the course Design for Social Change 1. Students continue working on practical team projects. Emphasis is placed on prototyping and testing products and services that address complex contemporary problems and support positive social change.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

3

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

MgA. Martina Růžičková, Ph.D.

Department

Department of Design (KDE)

Entry knowledge

Completion of Design for Social Change 1. Knowledge of the content from Methodology of the Design Process 1 and Methodology of the Design Process 2.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

Active participation in solving a team project during the semester is a prerequisite for admission to the colloquial exam.
Students will receive formative verbal feedback on their project work.

The colloquium takes the form of a final presentation of outcomes from the team projects.

Aims

After completing the course, students should be able to:

  • use data from their own research activities in a team project;
  • gain experience with prototyping and testing in a project aimed at positive social change;
  • navigate contemporary design methodologies based on approaches of speculative, critical, and transitional design, and apply them to a practical project;
  • evaluate prototypes according to principles of sustainability and ethics;
  • reflect on their own position as designers in relation to the addressed project;
  • have an overview of opportunities for collaboration with the public and non-profit sectors.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Manzini, Ezio. 2015. Design When Everybody Designs: An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Luňáčková, Daniela, Šárka Matoušková, and Ladislava Suchá Zbiejczuk. “Transition Design · Set of Cards,” n.d. https://kisk.phil.muni.cz/transitiondesign/en/outcomes/cards.

Recommended reading

Creswell, John W. a Cheryl N. Poth. 2018. Qualitative inquiry & research design: choosing among five approaches. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Hill, Dan. Dark Matter and Trojan Horses: A Strategic Design Vocabulary. Strelka Press, 2014.
Novotný, Roman, a Martina Růžičková. „Mystery nájemník jako dynamický designový element v kontextu systémově orientovaného designu: od testera služby nájemního bydlení k asistentovi vystěhovávaných nájemníků". JOINME, č. 2/2022 (b.r.). http://joinme-muni.cz/data/articles/2022/12/30/63ae9cc993089/Mystery%20n%C3%A1jemn%C3%ADk_final%20final%20(1)-edit-biblio33-final.pdf.
Rawsthorn, Alice. Zdravím, světe: jak design vstupuje do života. Vyd. 1., Kniha Zlín, 2014. 

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme DES_M Master's 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
    1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
    1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory
    1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Seminar

12 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

MgA. Martina Růžičková, Ph.D.
Ing. arch. Ondřej Mohyla

Syllabus

  • Methods for using data from research activities in design process
  • Methods for participatory prototyping
  • Contemporary design methodologies
  • Ethics and reflexivity in design practice
  • Opportunities for collaboration with public administration and the non-profit sector

Exercise

12 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

MgA. Martina Růžičková, Ph.D.

Syllabus

  • Working with data from own research activities
  • Prototyping; applying participatory approaches
  • Applying contemporary design methodologies
  • Prototype testing
  • Implementing test results
  • Finalizing outputs from the team project