Discover Your Design Future

The Open University (OU) is delighted to introduce the Bachelor of Design (BDes), launching in October 2024. Drawing on the OU’s expertise in distance design education, the BDes addresses the growing demand for creative graduates equipped with design-led thinking skills to make a difference to the lives of people, places, and the planet. This innovative programme will help you to develop your own unique design identity with an emphasis on professional expertise. In launching this degree, the Open University is nurturing a new generation of design professionals who can build on their unique lived experiences and skills to create their own design practices in this complex world. Students will be able to work with ecological, social, and technological challenges, and engage and empower others to develop impactful innovations that have social and ecological value. To celebrate the launch, the OU invites you to Discover Your Design Future – a Virtual Open Day during London Design Festival on Thursday, 19th September 2024, from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm BST. Choose from a variety of virtual taster sessions and engage in discussions about student life, projects, and career outcomes with students, staff, and alumni. Whether you’re passionate about creative problem-solving or envisioning societal change, the OU’s BDes offers a transformative educational journey. Join us to explore the forefront of design innovation. Schedule: 10:00-11:00: Introducing the OU’s New Design Degree The aim of this session is to provide information on the new Batchelor of Design (BDes) degree. We will introduce the different modules that make up this degree and some of the practical aspects of learning at the OU. 13:30-15:30: Values-Led Design The aim of this session is to introduce participants to a design challenge that reflects the kind of work that we educate students at the OU to engage with. This challenge reflects our focus on designing for impact, i.e., design that is driven by a challenge or opportunity that is considered important and valuable for people, our society and our planet. You will explore the challenge in a light touch, informal and interactive way. 16:00-18:00: Design Ecologies This session introduces the concept of design ecologies from multiple perspectives, including our practice. Together we will explore different designed objects using design ecologies as a guide. This is an informal, lightly interactive session with time for discussion. 18:30-19:30: Stories: Student and Staff Insights This session will cover student life, projects, and career outcomes, and will feature a live Q&A with current students, staff, and alumni. Feel free to join for any or all of the sessions, or simply stop by for a brief visit here: https://tinyurl.com/23yrukau.