Master of ScienceHuman-Centered Interaction Design

This course will introduce the student to the design perspectives encountered most often in human-centered interaction design. Design perspectives are attitudes towards how to do design which reflect their political, social, and technological beliefs about design practice. Through readings and case studies, the student explores a variety of perspectives in the domain of digital interactive design. The student delves into the foundations of design practice through different standpoints, histories, frames of reference and interpretations of different views of the ‘best’ way to design.

This course will introduce the student to the package of study design and research methods employed within human-centered interaction design. In this process-driven course, the lessons will be structured around design research methodology, execution, and reporting. The course will take place as a series of situation studios, in which the student engages their evolving design eye and research skills to research the people, processes, contexts, and temporalities of digital interaction opportunities. Through readings, discussions, and the exploration of examples, guidelines, and heuristics, the course engages the student in the ethical and entrepreneurial aspects of design research within design practice.

This course will introduce the student to the theories and perspectives of human social behavior that are employed most often in HCID. Drawing on canonical and new sociotechnical science literature, the course will present the student with overviews of theories of information, action, sociality, conflict, and interaction within traditional and digital environments. Through readings and examples, the course includes attention to sociotechnical theories around communities of practice, online communities, social media, and enterprise knowledge management. This seminar course offers the student a better understanding of the contexts and perspectives within which people interact with others, around and through offline, online, and hybrid environments.

This course will introduce the student to the design-based theories and contexts of users and populations, as found in human-centered interaction design. The course will be structured around three design contexts: cohorts; environments; and capabilities. The course will take place as a series of case-based seminars. Through readings, discussions, and the exploration of examples and heuristics, the course draws the student’s attention to the need to develop their design eye for contextual integration of user and population theory within design practice.

This course offers the student the opportunity to work with a variety of tools and processes that support design practice. The course exposes the student to traditional and digital tools, templates, and techniques for design. Using an example project supplied by the professor, the course is run as a series of studios. After using tools and processes in each stage of the design process, the student reflects on the suitability and use case for each tool and reflect of their evolving sense of self as a designer. The course covers the tools, processes, and techniques necessary to professionalize the student’s design practice.

This course introduces the student to the contextual design of patterned interfaces in human-centered interaction design. The course is structured as a series of seminars around four design area: contexts; visuals; patterns; and actions. Taking the approach of goal-driven design, the student will engage in reading, discussing, experimenting, and presenting design rationales for design choices around traditional and new digital interfaces. The course builds on what the student learned in the other courses and intensifies the student’s development of their design eye for contextually sensitive interaction design. The student will be challenged to consider areas of conflict and divergence within design thinking. While employing their own evolving capacity for design, the student will learn to manage conflicts between goal orientations, contextual needs, and environmental challenges.