Design Bits

Course information

Learning outcomes

After taking this course, the student

• Understands the value of design and its main approaches to sustainability, collaboration, innovation and management.
• Knows about the different design fields and understands design’s possible application to different areas.
• Understands the importance of the user’s perspective and knows design tools that help including users in projects.
• Can describe the design thinking process, its phases and its most relevant tools and methods.

Content

This is an introductory online course for students who are curious about what design is, how designers work, and how to work with designers. In this course we explain the basic definitions of design, introduce models for understanding design processes, and show the value of design in industry and society. 

Students learn the four essential pillars of design today: sustainability, collaboration, innovation and management. Through hands-on activities and reflections at the end of each chapter, we give you a taste of some widely-used design tools, guide you in thinking like a designer and show you possibilities of deepening your design studies at Aalto University.

The course is self-directed and at your own pace: there are no class meeting times or live lectures. This is an elective course suitable for both BA and MA level students.

https://designbits.aalto.fi/en/

Teacher

Pauliina Seppälä

Study material

https://designbits.aalto.fi/en/

Workload

Independent learning based on reading and assignments.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites.

Evaluation

Completed assignments. Note: Evaluation will be done and credits given in the end of each period.

Teaching time and location

Please note: This is a self-study course with no lectures.

The teaching time and the location of the course can be found at Sisu information system

1. The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
2. From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2025-2026 is selected  

3. From the blue bar, click Lecture and open the Groups and teaching times tab to see the teaching time and the location of the course. Exam times can be seen by clicking Exam.
    

   Exam instructions at the Open University

The teacher has four (4) weeks to grade the exam submissions starting from the exam date.

Further information

Equivalences to other courses: UWAS-C0011 Design Bits 

Online learning environment for the course  

MyCourses online learning environment is a tool for both students and teachers for communication and managing everyday course work. You need an Aalto User ID to log in to the course's MyCourses workspace and participate in teaching.

Digital workspace of the course:
MyCourses
More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.

Registration and course fee

Registration for Open University courses is done via the link below: 
Course registration

Registration for this course starts on 4.8.2025 at 9.00  
Registration for this course ends on 15.6.2026 at 23.59

It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.

This course is organized by the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture.

The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
Registration, payments and rules

Activating Aalto ID and Multifactor Authentication

You can activate your Aalto User ID the day after the registration and you should activate it no later than the day before the start of the course.
Instructions for activating your Aalto user ID

Once you have activated your Aalto user ID, also enable multifactor authentication. Some of Aalto University's services require multifactor authentication.

Instructions for using Multifactor Authentication