Interaction Design

This course will introduce the fundamental concepts, methods, and practices of UI (user interface) design. It will familiarize its students with the processes of interface development, the role of design leadership in that process, and the technical aspects of creating an effective interaction experience. Students will work both individually and in teams to explore the user interface development process and communicate their ideas in and through narrative media.

User centered research methods are embedded into the course. Students will participate in focused exercises that will orient them to the process and the resources they will need to further pursue UI design.

This is an introductory course for designers and artists with no prior experience of coding and programming.

Led by play, students will generate ideas and advance interaction concepts that are brought to life with code. Students will learn to use code as a creative medium and as a means to activate interactions between humans, objects, spaces, and interfaces.

Frameworks can help designers see, interpret, and design interactions. This course covers the history, psychology, and theory and practice of interaction design. Students will employ approaches from cybernetics, social practice theory, and actor-network theory to explore interactive systems of their own choosing. As a result, students will be equipped to make design decisions, informed by research, about the varied ways to leverage frameworks to evaluate and generate interactive systems as they move through their education and practice as designers.

Graduate Seminar aims to enable students to undertake rich and robust creative exploration that is informed by contextual and critical inquiry. Graduate Seminar serves to advance both the critical inquiry and critical writing skills of students, and enable the cross-referencing of theory to practice. Social, political, economic and environmental themes will be used to inform weekly classes.

Students will learn about the principles of UX (user experience) design. Students will learn how to map user journeys and prototype meaningful scenarios informed by research and iterative modeling and testing. Students will, at times, utilize and apply user-centered research and co­-design methods.

The Graduate Research Methods course equips students with the knowledge and skills required to undertake a range of advanced research methodologies appropriate to contemporary creative practice and critical inquiry in art and design, from ethnography and interviews to phenomenology and critical performance. Using a wide range of primary and secondary sources students will learn to critically explore and evaluate art and design research practices.

Part A provides a cross-disciplinary overview of the arts and creative industries and their importance to GDP and the economy overall, i.e. the creative economy. Students will strengthen their understanding of the broader business of creativity and arena of culture in which they will operate professionally.
Part B allows students to make a plan to address gaps in their resume, prepare their portfolios, and refine their oral presentation.

Studio Elective/ Program Specific Course

Students will choose an elective course.

Studio courses are designed to expose students to a wide range of real life design problems with industry and community partners. These courses challenge students to apply creative thinking skills in developing design outcomes and interventions for objects and experiences and apply technological competencies. In this third studio course, students will explore technologically mediated interactions between humans and services loctated in public spaces. The course advances the notion of smart cities, with projects that cover public service themes, including advice and advocacy, mobility, wayfinding, health, waste, and digital citizenship.

In this course students will learn advanced user experience design for technologically enabled businesses and enterprises. Students will learn to identify entrepreneurial opportunities using the application of new and emerging technologies, and utilize smart service systems with business-led and/or entrepreneurial systems thinking.

Written Thesis

The Written Thesis is a self-directed, academically rigorous and fully referenced 8000-10,000words document providing a critical appraisal of primary and secondary research sources, and theoretical discussion and debate on the over-arching context of the Graduate Thesis.

In this course students will learn advanced user experience design for technologically enabled businesses and enterprises. Students will learn to identify entrepreneurial opportunities using the application of new and emerging technologies, and utilize smart service systems with business-led and/or entrepreneurial systems thinking.

Professional Practice II builds on Professional Practice I, and runs in two concurrent modules, A and B. Part A is an in-depth exploration of the economic and socio-cultural value of the student’s own creative discipline. It examines the business practices of their professional discipline and how these operate alongside that of others. Part B allows students to further assess their own role and economic potential in the business of creativity, and advance their “hard” and “soft” skills.

Studio Elective / Program Specific Course

Students will choose an elective or program specific course.