Cursos / 1º Ciclo / Faculty of Architecture and Arts :: Design

TEORIA DO DESIGN - 2025/2026

2º curricular year
Semestralidade: 1st semester
ECTS: 2

Teachers

Leading Teacher: Prof. Doutora Ana Quintas
Assistant Professor: Prof. Doutora Ana Quintas

Class type and School hours

Teórica : 2 Horas

Teaching Language

Portuguese

Main Aims/Objectives

To provide the students with arguments and knowledge that allow them to identify different thoughts in Design, fitting them into their time. To this end, a diverse set of theoretical production by authors was selected, which as a whole contributed to the production of knowledge, including writings by designers.

Specific Aims/Objectives

- To identify and relate concepts
- To promote the practice of research in Design
- To raise awareness of integrated openness to other areas of knowledge
- To enrich technical and critical vocabulary, specific to this subject

Skills to be acquired

- To identify and relate the themes explained in the Program.
- To stimulate thinking in Design, relating eras and concepts, in order to promote innovation

Teaching Procedures

- Expository classes, based on the exploration of bibliography and examples chosen to
analysis.

Programme

- Around some concepts: Design, Art, Designer, Artist, Fine Arts, Applied Arts, Crafts, Machine, Theory, Methods, History, Ethics, Knowledge;
- From the beginnings of Design to current Design Methodology and Theory;
- The first Design theorists in the 19th century and the progressive path of its disciplinary emancipation in the 20th century;
- Knowledge methods in Design;
- Design and Theory;
- The role of design in the transition to a sustainable society.

Evaluation Type

Two written tests.

Teaching Resources

- Projection of audiovisual content
- Books

Sustainability Objectives

The topics covered will be aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Keywords

Design
Theory
History
Society
Technology
Ecology

Main Bibliography

Complementary Bibliography