This course puts the students in the context of realising an interaction design outcome from initial idea to final proposal, with a particular emphasis on field research and user-experience.
In this interaction design process, students work through the several stages of project development: Context/User Inquiry, Concept Generation, Idea Testing, Prototype Development, Evaluation and Concept Iteration.
Following these stages of observation, creation, and evaluation, we will discuss and apply situated and user-centered methods (eg. bodystorming, context analysis, video scenarios, etc).
This course is project-based and will allow students to have a hands-on experience.
Organised in groups, students will develop innovative design concept for a product, a service or an experience.
Example of Topic addressed for the course:
Systemic changes
The topic for this class addresses the typical design premice of interaction designers' wishes to have a societal impact. People-centered design is at the core of interaction design studies and human-computer interaction research. What does this premice actually mean? What are the limitations, frustrations, realities of designing on the ground? The class proposes to look at proposal of changes not in term of individual behaviours but addressing if systemic changes can happen from a design proposal. We will also uncover the contradictions of a designer's responsibility, agency and idealisation.
For this course, each group of students will engage designing in a social context that they will identify and they will argue for their intervention, in conjunction with working with people involved on the ground.