A case example is presented of an innovative teaching and learning experience, devised somewhat emergently for a mixed class of 30 undergraduate design students in Beijing, China. It shares the benefits of a mash-up approach drawing on fundamentals of design practice translated into an intensive five-day observation-to-animation exercise, with unexpected learning value to students of three different design-related disciplines.

This paper outlines the instructions given, the process followed, the resulting designed outcomes, and student feedback gathered some three and a half years later. These testimonies evidence the lasting impact of this activity on the students despite its short duration, and specifically the value of observation, creative experiment, facilitating peer relationships, collaboration, and peer learning across the three disciplines. All of these elements were explicitly absent from other learning modules in their curriculum. The scenario provides a framework to inspire and guide similar collaborative activities across design disciplines.