Start semester
70 601 Interaction Design 2: Screens
Passed foundation level courses at AHO (BA-level) or equivalent education of 180 ECTS.
Students that have taken Interaction Design 1 will have first priority, and students with Service Design 1 have second priority.
2 year international master students must have been approved for interaction design
The second part of the interaction design programme focuses on the complex connected world we now live in, where visual interfaces are increasingly prevalent (from mobile phones to large public information systems) and present designers with fascinating, complex and highly relevant challenges. The course explores how these interfaces can be effectively integrated into networks and spaces; the information they contain and the messages they impart; and how we, as users, engage and interact with them.
New digital technologies, and the internet in particular, have changed the ways of production and consumption of information. The internet itself has undergone a sea-change in recent years, from primarily static and closed systems to infrastructures where openness, information sharing, collaboration and creativity are key ingredients.
Massive information datasets and structures need to be presented in dynamic, user-friendly and accessible ways, allowing for easy navigation, providing an overview as well as detailed analysis. These sophisticated design challenges will be explored in a range of workshops and projects. The course will provide students with appropriate practical skills, design methods and design thinking tools, enabling them to tackle advanced screen-based design issues, and leading to the creation of engaging, informative and effective interfaces. The semester is a compilation of several smaller modules and workshops to introduce the students to the new and more screen specific methods, processes and tools that will form the core of the term. This will be followed by one final project, where students will develop more in-depth conceptual frameworks.
KNOWLEDGE
Students will
• gain an insight and understanding of the fundamental challenges in the design of screen-based interaction design, and apply this to the design of engaging user-experiences.
• understand the roles and opportunities for the designer in a technologically driven environment.
SKILLS
Students will
• improve their screen-based graphical technical and production skills
• be able to use tools and methods to prototype interactive concepts
• develop their skills in using iterative design processes through hands-on tasks
• develop their skills at communicating their concepts and ideas in an engaging and convincing manner
Many small modules
The semester is divided into many shorter modules, that together will form a comprehensive introduction to the field. Most of these modules will be initiated by lectures and/or workshops, followed by students working on their assignments with mentoring from the staff.
Frequent critiques and presentations
In addition to mentoring, ‘the crit’ is the core method for dialogue throughout the semester, and students will engage in progress discussions and presentations 1-2 times weekly throughout the whole semester.
Partner collaboration
In the final module the students can choose from a various tasks with external collaborators. These collaborators range from local business and design consultant companies, to design research projects and future envisioning conceptualization.
Group work
Students will be working individually or in groups of two.
The curriculum will be adjusted each year and shared as a part of the course-material. Some core texts include:
Designing for Interaction: Creating Smart Applications and Clever Devices. Dan Saffer. New Riders
Microinteractions: Designing with details. Dan Saffer. O’Reilly Media
Intertwingled: Information Changes Everything. Peter Morville. Semantic Studios
Inventing the medium: principles of interaction design asa cultural practice. Janet H Murray. The MIT Press
Designing interactions. Bill Moggridge. The MIT Press
| Form of assessment | Grouping | Grading scale | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio assessment (Vurderingsmappe) | Individual | Pass / fail | The course consist of 4 - 7 modules, and all modules need to be passed in order to pass the whole course. Evaluation will be based on the following elements in percentage: • 95% Design projects, presentations, minor deliverables, workshops and appropriate presentation material for the final project. Projects will be assessed for their creativity, expression, innovation, usability and appropriateness of design. • 5% contribution towards the group exhibition The course will be assessed by an external examiner. The course is evaluated as pass or fail. If during the semester the student fail in one of the modules, they will be given the option to supply material within the timeframe of the semester. And in addition, the external sensor for the final module will go through all the deliverables from the whole semester for this student do a portfolio evaluation. |
| Workload activity | Comment |
|---|---|
| Attendance | This is an intensive course and it demands consistent and hard work from the participants. Students are expected to participate and be present on a daily basis with continuous work effort throughout the semester. There is at least a 90 % expected attendance for lectures and workshops. |