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2026/2027  KAN-CEMAV2501U  How Design Creates Value

English Title
How Design Creates Value

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course First Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Max. participants 80
Study board
Study Board for Markets & Innovation
Programme Cand.merc. - Økonomisk Markedsføring (EMF)
Course coordinator
  • Claus Varnes - Department of Marketing (Marketing)
Main academic disciplines
  • Consumer behaviour
  • Innovation
  • Experience economy
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 27-01-2026

Relevant links
Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students must meet the listed learning objectives with no or minor mistakes:
  • Identify values in designed object, services, interiors or experiences.
  • Analyze how design can add value for stakeholders.
  • Outline and discuss relevant literature to analyze a specific design case and argue for possible improvements.
  • Use and discuss literature from the curriculum and find and add relevant literature to match the individual case.
  • Test and use relevant methods for studying design and value creation.
  • Reflect on and discuss alternative design solutions.
Examination
How Design Creates Value:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance, see also the rules about examination forms in the programme regulations.
Individual or group exam Oral group exam based on written group product
Number of people in the group 2
Size of written product Please see text below
1 student writes max. 5 standard pages of text, or a suitable presentation that equals max. 5 pages of text.

2 students write max. 10 standard pages of text, or a suitable presentation that equals max. 10 pages of text.
Assignment type Report
Release of assignment An assigned subject is released in class
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Re-take exam is to be based on the same report as the ordinary exam:

• If a student is absent from the oral exam due to documented illness but has handed in the written group product, she/he does not have to submit a new product for the re-take.

• If a group fails, the oral exam they must hand in a revised product for the re-take.

• If one student in a group fails, the oral exam the course coordinator chooses whether the student will have the oral exam on the basis of the same product or if he/she has to hand in a revised product for the re-take.
Description of the exam procedure

 

Examinations are based on a written assignments and an online exam - either individually or in groups of two. To sufficiently cover a case we recommend that students to work in groups of two, however, individual assignments are accepted as well. 

 

Groups are examined as teams and need to list themselves as teams on Digital Exam before handing in the assignment.

 

Participation in the oral exam requires that the written assignment has been handed in before the established deadline. The final grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the oral, online performance. 

 

The project should depart from an issue or problem addressed in the course. The project should further explore the issue through empirical data, theories, and/or models. For example, the students can detect and study a case by choice and discuss the case in relation to the theories and models that have been introduced.

 

A part of the course curriculum is mandatory (it will apear from the literature list if readings are mandatory or optional). The student should be able to discuss all aspects related to the course lectures and theories.

 

Assignment: 

  • Individual projects - max. 5 pages of text, or a presentation that equals max. 5 pages of text.
  • Groups of 2 - max. 10 pages, or a presentation that equals max. 10 pages of text.

 

Oral defense: 

1 student = 20 min.

  • Student presentation: 5 min
  • Discussion: 8 min
  • Voting/Grading: 7 min

 

2 students = 40 min.

  • Student presentations (total): 10 min
  • Discussion: 16 min
  • Voting/Grading: 14 min

 
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

Background: Design permeates our environment, evident in homes, public spaces, retail establishments, restaurants, and mobile devices. Designed objects and services are ubiquitous. The quality of design exhibits significant variability. This course examines the ways in which design can enhance value for diverse stakeholders.

Design encompasses more than the creation of aesthetically pleasing objects and effective services; it serves as a methodology and cognitive framework applicable to a variety of problem-solving scenarios. Design serves as a crucial element in product innovation and the success of businesses, and it has been recognised as a viable approach to addressing environmental and climate challenges.

Understanding the fundamental principles of design and effectively implementing them in projects is anticipated to be an essential competency for future business professionals. This elective course will examine competencies in design management, product design, interior design, and service design, focussing on how functional, symbolic, economic, hedonic, and environmental values are generated through design.

Master's students will acquire qualifications that allow them to engage in strategic-level design discussions.The course is developed by Christina Funder (crf.marktg@cbs.dk), Mia B. Münster (mmu.marktg@cbs.dk), and Claus Varnes (cv.marktg@cbs.dk). For additional enquiries, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of us.


The course structure involves students selecting and analysing a case of their own preference. The cases will serve as the foundation for the written assignment. Under the instructors' guidance, students will analyse design and value perspectives within the case. Multiple approaches for examining design and value creation will be presented. Given that the cases are selected individually, it is anticipated that students will seek pertinent literature to offer both context and depth to their specific case.

 

 
Research-based teaching
CBS’ programmes and teaching are research-based. The following types of research-based knowledge and research-like activities are included in this course:
Research-based knowledge
  • Classic and basic theory
  • Teacher’s own research
Research-like activities
  • Data collection
  • Analysis
  • Discussion, critical reflection, modelling
Description of the teaching methods
A mix between online classes and classes on campus:

• Lectures
• Workshops
• Case-based discussions
• Observation studies and field trips (preare for field trips in CPH)
• Content analysis of journal articles
• Small assignments that will improve the analytical skills of students
Feedback during the teaching period

Feedback will be given as: Comments on the student's proposed case (for the written assignment), which will be presented and discussed in class, and as comments on the written project during the exam, and finally, expressed in the final grade.

Student workload
Reading 50 hours
Lectures incl. field trips 30 hours
Case Studies and Analysis 50 hours
Individual assignments during the course, eg. observation studies 20 hours
Assignment and exam preparation 56 hours
Expected literature

 

Orienting Literature (final list will be supplied the week before the course starts)

 

Bakker, C.; den Hollander, M.; van Hinte, E.; Zijlstra, Y. (2019) Products that Last, B/S Publisher.

 

Bocken, Pauw, Bakker, Grinten (2016) Product design and business model strategies for a circular economy, Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 33:5, 308-320, DOI: 10.1080/​21681015.2016.1172124

 

Boztepe, S. (2007) User Values: Competing Theories and Models. International Journal of Design

 

Ellen Mc. Arthur Foundation (2016) What is the circular economy,  https:/​/​www.youtube.com/​watch?v=jbBTwKOllrg

 

Heskett, J. (2005) Design: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press.

 

Kotler, P.  (1973). Atmospherics as a Marketing Tool: Journal of Retailing, 49, 4.

 

Krippendorf, K. (1989). On the Essential Context of Artifacts or on the Proposition That ‘Design is Making Sense (of thing). Design Issues, Vol. 5, no. 2.

 

Leder, H., Belke, B., Oeberst A., Augustin, D. (2004) Model of Aesthetic Appreciation and Aesthetic Judgments. British Journal of Psychology, 95.

 

Madden, R. (2010) Looking at People: Observations and Images in ‘Being Ethnographic’. Sage Publications.

 

Norman, D. (2004) Emotional Design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things. New York. Basic Books.

 

Norman, D. (2024) Design for a Better World – Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered, MIT Press ISBN: 9780262548304

 
Last updated on 27-01-2026