Abstract:

How can engineering students learn to communicate a design prototype without using words? While communication is a core competence in engineering education, students are still primarily trained to present their work through written reports and conventional oral presentations. However, contemporary design and innovation practices increasingly rely on visual and narrative forms of communication.

This paper presents a pedagogical case from the project-based course Prototyping with a Frugal Approach at Chalmers University of Technology. The course focuses on collaborative prototyping inspired by principles of frugal design, where students develop functional prototypes while exploring creative and resource-efficient design processes.

To broaden how students communicate design concepts, two multimodal assignments were integrated into the course. Student teams were required to present their prototypes through a short video without spoken words and an audio-based presentation resembling a radio play. These formats challenged students to communicate functionality, context and user experience through visual and auditory storytelling rather than through conventional explanatory presentations.

To support these assignments, the Blended Learning Team collaborated closely with the course teachers and contributed directly to the course activities. The team delivered introductory lectures on video and audio production, supported students in developing storyboards and scripts, and supervised the media production process in studio sessions. This collaboration made it possible to introduce media production as a structured learning activity within the course rather than as an additional technical skill students were expected to acquire independently.

Preliminary observations indicate that the multimodal assignments stimulated creativity, encouraged students to consider user perspectives more explicitly, and fostered deeper reflection on how design ideas are communicated. The alternative presentation formats also generated richer discussions about design choices during the final project presentations.

The case illustrates how multimedia storytelling can complement traditional forms of communication in engineering education. It also highlights how collaboration between teaching staff and learning support specialists can enable innovative learning activities that help students develop broader communication skills relevant to contemporary design practice.

Keywords:

Multimodal learning, Engineering education, Project-based learning, Multimedia storytelling, Design communication.