MA Design Management and Cultures

Content

MA Design Management and Cultures combines academic study with creative and professional practice in a project-led curriculum that draws on a range of interdisciplinary perspectives from business and the arts.

The content of the course reflects current knowledge, debates and issues within the disciplines. You will interrogate, through practical projects, a range of perspectives including design research methods; design thinking for the cultural and creative industries; branding; the role of creative interventions in brand communications; trend forecasting; strategies for the management of brand experiences; design for social needs and sustainability; project management; entrepreneurship and innovation; change management; and design leadership.

The course is designed to support employability and employer engagement, by developing both transferable and industries specific high-level skills. You will develop research, analytical, communication, business, management and problem-solving capabilities that are directed towards careers within the cultural and creative industries.

You will be equipped with a set of practical skills in project management, change management, enterprise, leadership, branding and critical writing and practice. You will also have the opportunity to customise your studies through major project selection according to your own particular business and cultural design interests and career aspirations.

Throughout the course, there will be regular contact with industry professionals through studio and industry visits, live briefs and guest speaker and networking events. In addition, mentoring programmes will be developed via industry contacts, where students can spend time in real working environments observing management systems in action.

Academic and instructional writing on design management has significantly increased, with articles on the subject appearing in major publications such as The Economist, Harvard Business Review, Business Week and The New York Times. The continuing growth of the creative industries in the UK, (now estimated at 6% of GDP), has created employment opportunities for design leaders, design managers and innovative thinkers in this burgeoning sector.

The strength of demand for design management skills in a range of enterprises and organisations is reflected in the career sections of professional networking and employment sites.

Growing job opportunities, in turn, create a demand for educational courses such as MA Design Management and Cultures, which prepares future design leaders and managers for work in both traditional and new economy models. The last decade has witnessed a growing emphasis by government on the economic value of culture, at the same time as business and management studies have experienced a ‘cultural turn’.

The cross-fertilisation between business and culture has opened up opportunities for subjects that bridge this disciplinary divide, such as MA Design Management and Cultures.

The course combines theory with practice, through projects which draw on perspectives from a range of disciplines across business and the arts; covering a breadth of topics from branding, design and innovation processes to anthropology, culture, history and meaning.

Design managers oversee design teams and departments to create the optimum product presence, design or brand identity. They are responsible for the operation of corporate design functions and design agencies. Design managers create quality and consistency of studio output and are required to have strong project management and communication skills.

Design leaders strategically champion design across an organisation as a means of innovation and differentiation. They stimulate and facilitate a culture of innovation, collaboration and enterprise within and across disciplines, cultures, companies and industries.

Professional roles that encompass design management skills include department managers, creative directors, heads of design, design strategists and researchers, in addition to executives with responsibility for making decisions about design and innovation.

Career opportunities that emerge from the study of design business and management are further strengthened by exposure to cultural and critical studies. The latter is a diverse area that draws on sociology, anthropology, philosophy, politics, museum studies, history and feminist theory and develops a discursive capacity for critical analysis and debate.

MA Design Management and Cultures combines an understanding of management and organisation from perspectives drawn from business, the arts and humanities. The curriculum has a professional focus with a strong emphasis on the development of leadership, management, communication and analytical skills.

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24 September 2018

Course units

MA Design Management and Cultures is a four-term, full-time programme. Each course is divided into units, which are credit-rated. The minimum unit size is 20 credits. The MA course structure involves six units, totalling 180 credits.

Units summary:

• Design, Management, Leadership and Innovation (40 credits)
• Design Research Methods and Critical (20 credits)

In the Autumn Term, you will critically engage with ‘design thinking’ and concepts and theories of leadership and innovation. You will experiment with a range of interdisciplinary research methods.

Units summary:

• Global Design Futures (20 credits)
• Design and Cultural Meaning (20 credits)
• Collaborative Unit (20 credits)

At the start of the Spring Term, you will take the Collaborative Unit, which is common to all courses at Masters level. Mid-way through the Spring Term you'll consider how design management can bring about transformation within a global context and explore the role of design in the creation of social, political and cultural meaning.

Units summary:

• Global Design Futures (continued)
• Design and Cultural Meaning (continued)
• Final Major Project and Thesis (60 credits)

In the Summer Term, you take the knowledge, skills and experience from the units studied to date on the course and bring these together in the production of a self-directed major project and associated thesis.

Units summary:

• Final Major Project and Thesis (continued)

If you are unable to continue or decide to exit the course, there are two possible exit awards. A Postgraduate Certificate will be awarded on successful completion of the first 60 credits and a Postgraduate Diploma will be awarded on successful completion of the first 120 credits.

‌MA Design Management and Cultures Programme Specification 2017/18 (PDF - 190KB)

Staff Acting Course Leader

Sara Ekenger