The Digital Design master’s program is a design program developed within the field of computer science, and its goal is to train competent designers for the digital transformation and digitization.

To reflect this broader focus, this study program introduces and uses terminology designed to bridge the various disciplines involved and thereby establish interdisciplinary communication. The following text provides a concise introduction to this terminology.

The term “design” or “to design” refers to an intervention in the environment that leads to an intentional change. In this context, it is important to understand design as something that goes beyond mere aesthetic appearance (form, color) (see [1]).

In this sense, Digital Design is a study program focused on the design of digital solutions. This process is often referred to as digitization.

The term “digitalization” has been deliberately chosen to highlight its broader scope. On the one hand, digitalization is understood—in the sense of digital transformation—as a social process, that is, the shift toward an economy and society that are largely based on digital technologies. On the other hand, digitalization is also understood as a technical process that transforms analog data and processes into digital form.

This tension is not a weakness of the term “digitalization.” Rather, it demonstrates that digitalization is an interdisciplinary and socio-technical phenomenon. Therefore, in shaping digitalization, factors such as business studies, people, and organizations—as well as hardware and physical products—must play a significant role alongside IT-related and, in particular, software-related factors.

“Digital,” as the antonym of “analog,” should be understood as an umbrella term for a category of things, solutions, or products that are made possible primarily by digital technologies. “Analog,” on the other hand, should be understood as an umbrella term for things, solutions, or products that are based primarily on analog technologies. However, the terms “analog” and “digital” should not be understood as strictly distinct categories. They should be viewed as food for thought, since digital solutions in particular (at least so far) cannot function without analog components.

Digital technology, as the foundation for implementing digital solutions, is understood as a material that can be shaped. The concept of digital material and expertise in digital material is an essential prerequisite for training competent designers in the field of digitalization.

In this regard, the study program follows the model of established design study programs (such as industrial design and architecture), in which the teaching of material expertise also serves as a cornerstone. At the same time, the concept of digital material builds a bridge to other disciplines that also work with the concept of material (e.g., industrial design and architecture).

In addition to material expertise, process-related skills (e.g., for planning the implementation of a solution) play a central role in the design process to bring about the intentional changes mentioned earlier. The term “construction” is used as an umbrella term for the entirety of all activities, from the initial idea through to the actual operation and further development of digital solutions. Construction expertise combined with digital technology is essential for effective design, as building a digital solution requires many detailed design decisions that significantly influence the solution’s success.

One final key concept is “design” or “the process of designing.” In the context of digitalization, “design” refers both to the representation of the idea for a digital solution (e.g., in the form of a concept, graphical model, or prototype) and to the activity of developing such an idea (see [2]).

Design work is not limited to aesthetics alone. Similarly, the engineering-oriented fields of digitalization (e.g., software development) also rely heavily on design competence. However, in these fields, the focus is not on the creative aspect but rather on implementation (e.g., software architectures, breaking down systems into modules or services). Due to this dual nature of design work—encompassing both creation and implementation—competence in design, and especially in various notations of digital design, is an essential cross-disciplinary skill for establishing a common basis for communication among all stakeholders.

The concept of design—and thus design competence—is also an essential component in other creative disciplines as well as in engineering-oriented fields (see [3]). In addition to design competence for digitalization, a comprehensive understanding of design in other disciplines is therefore also a prerequisite for doing justice to the interdisciplinary nature of digitalization.

In our study program, the distinction between drafting and designing is defined as follows: “Drafting” refers to the creation of a representation, while “designing” refers to the conceptualization of that representation. Drawing an analogy to writing, the ability to write letters and knowledge of grammar and sentence structure can be understood as drafting skills. Writing good novels or poems, on the other hand, is a creative skill.

[1] See M. Erlhoff & T. Marshall: Dictionary of Design, Birkhäuser, 2008.
[2] C. Gänshirt: Tools for Ideas: An Introduction to Architectural Design, Birkhäuser, 2021
[3] T. H. Schmitz et al.: Manifestations in Design: Design – Architecture – Engineering, transcript Verlag, 2016.