Creative Lighting for People and Places
(
DES11138
)
Focusing on how light can shape people’s experience of interior and exterior spaces, this module gives you the opportunity to explore, develop, and critically evaluate creative lighting solutions. You will investigate the perception of light, the interaction of colour and movement, and how lighting can enhance mood, wellbeing, and atmosphere in a space.Through workshops, site visits, and input from industry experts, you will explore working with daylight, artificial light, and light–material interactions, testing your ideas to develop both technical skills and conceptual approaches at scale. You will also develop your own process to communicate your designs, using photography, sketching, drawing, or digital methods as appropriate. You will learn to calculate lighting levels and apply principles that support your creative decisions. Sustainability will be integrated into your approaches, encouraging you to consider responsible, innovative lighting solutions and design choices.Throughout the module, you will receive guidance and feedback on your experiments and design explorations, culminating in a lighting installation for either an interior or exterior public space that demonstrates your skills, creativity, and professional standards.
Further information
Creative Research Portfolio Part 1
(
DES11155
)
This module enables you to prepare the groundwork for an extensive individual research project that tests creative practice and design issues through primary and secondary research. Over the course of this module you will be supported through your management and preparation of a literature review. This module will enhance your ability to critically assess methodological applicability, research credibility, ethics and develop an understanding of research in and through creative practice and guide your management of a research project. The suitability of format and research content will be agreed between you and your tutor early in the module. This module is a standalone module that is related to Creative Research Portfolio Part 2 where you are expected to apply the methods discussed in Part 1.
Further information
Creative Research Portfolio Part 2
(
DES11156
)
This module responds to work proposed in Creative Research Portfolio Part 1. This module enables you to prepare the groundwork for an extensive individual research project that tests creative practice and design issues through primary and secondary research. This module usually involves the delivery and evaluation of the research proposed in Creative Research Portfolio Part 1. This module is assessed through portfolio and is a rigorous demonstration and discussion of the work undertaken throughout the module. You will be guided through the delivery of your portfolio by an allocated supervisor.
Further information
Design for Heritage and Culture
(
DES11137
)
This is an interdisciplinary module that will require you to place your own subject specialism within the broad context of design for culture and heritage.Through this module you will develop your understanding of the core aspects of design for Heritage and Culture. User journeys, engagements, interactions and experiences will form the foundation of explorative studies where prototype designs will aim to change visitor relationship to heritage and culture. The module introduces you to a variety of design strategies used by designers to address thematically driven project briefs in a variety of physical contexts.Studio-based design projects form the core of the module. Within the projects you will critically explore current themes in areas of heritage and culture and you will look towards forecasting and designing for future potentialities. In developing design proposals, you are required to undertake thematic, contextual and material research and to illustrate how your design solutions provide for enhanced user experience and interaction in a defined heritage and cultural role.
Further information
Light Art & Projection
(
DES11122
)
This module enables you to explore and develop your creative practice in light art and projection. You will research pioneering light artists who work in diverse contexts, including galleries, public spaces, and interior or exterior environments, to understand how light can shape perception, mood, and atmosphere.Through workshops and tutorials, you will experiment with projection mapping, optical fibre to test and develop your ideas. You will apply technical and conceptual skills to plan and prototype light installations, considering human experience, sustainability, and site-specific requirements.You will document and reflect on your process, critically evaluating your creative and technical decisions. By the end of the module, you will produce a coherent light art proposal and supporting materials that demonstrate your ability to research, plan, test, and communicate innovative lighting ideas.
Further information
Live Projects
(
DES11136
)
There are three ways in which you can engage with this module. You should select one approach:1) Edinburgh Napier University has sourced a number of work placements relevant to the MA Design Suite. These placements can be applied for through a competitive process involving the placement provider, and the Student Futures Team.2) You may already be working or volunteering in a role relevant to your degree and you may wish to use your ongoing employment (or volunteering) to complete the assessments for this module.3) You may want to pursue a new employment or volunteering opportunity once you have built up experience on the programme and decided where your interests lie. The programme staff, in conjunction with the Student Futures Team will support you in taking route 3).Through engaging in a work placement, or relevant voluntary work, related to your course you will explore the concepts, debates, policies, initiatives, and funding related to the area in which you will be working. You will also relate your work experiences to the academic content of your course and reflect on the value of your prior learning. You will undertake self-assessment and reflective and critical thinking will be a key part of your submissions.
Further information
Research and Entrepreneurship Projects
(
DES11144
)
This module gives you the opportunity to explore, develop, and critically evaluate your professional practice. You will be encouraged to consider entrepreneurial opportunities and think strategically about your position within your chosen field, working on projects that may emerge from your existing work, ongoing research, or initiatives you develop independently.You will establish a professional online presence to communicate your skills, ideas, and practice to external audiences. This may take the form of a website, blog, social media platform, or a combination of these, and will help support your career ambitions, whether in employment, freelance practice, further study, or ongoing projects.The module guides you to reflect on your development, clarify your goals, refine your professional voice, and articulate your creative direction. Your learning will be demonstrated through a professional online presence and a written evaluation report critically analysing your development, creative decisions, and practice.Emphasizing independence, initiative, and critical reflection, the module helps you identify opportunities, plan strategically, and apply your learning to real-world professional contexts. You will also develop transferable skills such as goal-setting, managing change, and professional effectiveness to support your ongoing career development.
Further information
Research as Critical Practice
(
DES11143
)
This module is designed to develop the knowledge and skills required to undertake an advanced range of research methods appropriate to contemporary creative practice in design and lens media, from ethnography and interviews to phenomenology, collaborative methods and practice-based approaches . You will explore advanced research paradigms for creative practice which include critical, participative and performative-oriented research approaches and methods. You will develop and refine your skills in creative research methods, analysis of creative and practice-based research precedents, and critical and reflective interpretation of your projects. Using a wide range of primary and secondary sources you will learn to critically explore and evaluate design or lens media research practices. The module will cover research methods that will enable you to ask, learn, look and try things during the early exploratory stages of the creative process.
Further information
* These are indicative only and reflect the course structure in the current academic year. Some changes may occur between now and the time that you study.