The Baseline Philosophy

Introduction

In this assignment, we’ll briefly explain the three core principles around which we’ve built this course.

1. High-quality design curriculum should be available to everyone for free

❯  We believe that nobody should be prevented from accessing educational materials because of the price. All of our course materials are available for free.

❯  We believe that “free” shouldn’t mean poor quality. All of the materials on this website were created by our in-house team, from scratch, during twelve months of design and development.

❯  We believe that design curriculum should be accessible. All of our assignments are written in concise, plain English, with “jargon buster” explanations of technical terms.*

* We are now working on translations and audio versions of assignments. This work is scheduled for completion by the end of 2021.

2. Access to expert design coaching should be flexible and affordable

❯  We believe that everyone should be able to access feedback and coaching from experienced designers at a fair and affordable rate. Our coaching service starts at €30.

❯  We believe that design students should be empowered to advance their work independently through reflective learning practices. Our course introduces all new topics through the following learning cycle:

• Read the lessons
• Practise with your new knowledge
• Apply the new skill in a short design brief
• Reflect on what you learned

❯  We believe that coaching sessions should be available on equal terms to those who are unable to pay. Each month, 20% of our coaching hours are made available for free.*

* See our Scholarships page   for more information.

3. Online education should respect people’s rights, privacy, and autonomy

❯  We believe that everyone should be able to access educational materials without having to create an account or log in. All of our course materials are ordinary webpages.

❯  We believe that online education shouldn’t be spammy. We do not collect email addresses, conduct any email marketing, or use any social media advertising features.

❯  We believe that every student’s learning journey should be private. We do not store or display any student work.

In conclusion...

With that out of the way, in the next assignment let’s move the focus back to you — and what you need for this course.

Assignment version 1.0
Last updated 7 June 2021