DTK1234 Course Review¶

Introduction¶

Full name: DTK1234 Design Thinking
Target audience: NUS Year 1 CDE / FoS Students
Purpose of the course: To motivate students to think creatively (and sometimes crazily), and to apply a people-centered approach to prototype ideas and solve real-world problems.
Notes Structure: View the DTK1234 Lecture Notes
1. DTK1234-Notes: The file DTK1234_Notes.pdf contains the notes I made while studying this course and designing my project.

I took this course in AY24/25 Semester 2 to fulfill my degree requirement.

Course Content¶

Overview of Topics Covered¶

The structure of this course can be divided into two main phases. Across these two phases, the five core topics form a complete and elegant closed loop of the design thinking process:

Discovery Phase:
- From Norman Doors to what qualifies as a good design
- Systematic Creativity: Creativity is not only a talent -- it can be learned
- Empathy: Do you truly understand your users and their needs?
Development Phase
- Prototype: Making your ideas tangible
- Evaluation: Does your prototype truly solve the problem?

This loop captures the full journey from design awareness to iteration and refinement.

Depth and Balance of Coverage¶

As a common course for all CDE and FoS Year 1 students, the content of DTK1234 is relatively straightforward and accessible. Each of the five topics is introduced using:

A short, well-produced video
Accompanied by simple examples and guiding questions

Interestingly, the hosts of these videos are leaders from the NUS Division of Industrial Design, which adds strong credibility and real-world relevance to the course.

Teaching Style and Materials¶

Teaching Style¶

Tutorial¶

The main learning component of this course lies in the once-every-two-weeks tutorial sessions. My tutor was Ms. Atiqa. She is extremely kind and patient, and she always gave me very detailed and constructive feedback on my project progress.

Her feedback guided me through multiple iterations and helped me see my design flaws clearly and objectively.

Course Book¶

There is no specific textbook for this course. All the materials are provided in the form of videos and articles on Canvas.

Learning Experience¶

I genuinely enjoyed this course a lot. It taught me not only how to think creatively, but also how to:

Turn crazy ideas into simple prototypes
Test those prototypes with users
Gather feedback
Improve the design through iteration

What impressed me the most is the closed-loop nature of the design process. During the evaluation phase, I reflect on my product and repeatedly question:

"Is my product really easy for users to use?"

This question naturally brings me back to the very first topic -- Norman Doors, which is fundamentally about whether a design is intuitive and user-friendly. In this way, the course beautifully connects evaluation back to design fundamentals.

I've also written a separate blog documenting everything fascinating that I learned throughout this course.

Workload and Time Management¶

Level of Difficulty: 6/10
Tips for Future Students: Don't treat it as a fluff module! Just think crazily ! Don't be afraid of being wrong -- there is no single correct answer in design, only better iterations.

Info

As far as I know, the content of this course has changed significantly since AY25/26 Semester 1, but the core philosophy remains the same: "Try new things. Try crazy things. Throw convention out of the window."

Conclusion¶

I honestly did not expect DTK1234 to be this interesting and impactful. I truly enjoyed the time spent brainstorming, prototyping, and iterating with my teammates, as well as the guidance from my tutor.

This course reshaped the way I perceive design, creativity, and problem-solving, and it remains one of the most refreshing learning experiences in my first year at NUS.