Link to Official Full Syllabus
Below is weekly outline of topics, assignments, and deliverables. These are also on bCourses.
WEEK 1
26 Aug Introduction
Slides
Assignment: Reading Response (due before class on 31 Aug)
Section/Studio: No Section
WEEK 2
31 Aug The Design Cycle, Brainstorming, and Critique
Slides
Reading: Rogers, Y., Sharp, H., & Preece, J. (2023). Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction (6th ed. ed.). (Read Chapter 1 "What Is Interaction Design?" up to and including section 1.9.2).
Reading: The 5 Stages in the Design Thinking Process (last edited 2025) by Rikke Friis Dam, The Interaction Design Foundation
Assignment: PROG 01: Electric Time (due by 11:59pm on 18 Sep)
02 Sep Ubiquitous and Context Aware Computing
Slides
Reading: Mark Weiser. 1999. The Computer for the 21st Century. Scientific American, Sept 1991.
Assignment: DESIGN 01: Watches in the XXXX*****Wild (due due 11:59pm 13 Sep AND before class 16 Sep)
Section/Studio: Intro to Web Frontend Coding
WEEK 3
07 Sep Labor Day
No Class
09 Sep Storyboard, Scenarios, and Personas
Slides
Reading: Chapter 4: Analyzing User Research in Designing the iPhone User Experience: A User-Centered Approach to Sketching and Prototyping iPhone Apps, Suzanne Ginsburg (2011).
Reading: Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin, (2007) About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design (Chapter 5: Modeling Users: Personas and Goals) pp. 75-107.
Reading: Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin, (2007) About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design (Chapter 6: The Foundations of Design: Scenarios and Requirements) pp.109-122.
Section: Intro to Figma ******REMOVE
WEEK 4
14 Sep Task Analysis and Sketching
Slides
Reading: The Psychology of Everyday Things. The Design of Everyday Things. Chapter 1. Norman.
16 Sep Affordance, Contextual Inquiry, and Conceptual Models
Slides
Reading: Rogers, Y., Sharp, H., & Preece, J. (2011). Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction (3rd ed. ed.), pp 44-54 (Interface Metaphors) and pp 86-96 (Cognitive Frameworks)
Assignment Due: DESIGN 01: Watches***** in the Wild (due before class)
Assignment Due: PROG 01: Electric Time (due by 11:59pm on 18 Sep)
Section: XXXXXX Techniques
WEEK 5
21 Sep Heuristic Evaluation
Slides
Reading: Heuristic Evaluation. Jakob Nielsen. (1) How to conduct a heuristic evaluation, (2) Ten recommended heuristics, (3) Severity Ratings for usability problems
Assignment: DESIGN 03: Heuristic Evaluation (due on 30 Sep)
Assignment: PROG 02: Represent! (due by 11:59pm on 16 Oct)
23 Sep Human Models
Slides
Assignment Due: DESIGN 03: Heuristic Evaluation
Reading: The Model Human Processor. The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction. Chap 2. Card, Moran & Newell. Pages 24-76.
Assignment Due: PROG 02-A (due before class)
WEEK 6
28 Sep Brainstorm
No Slides
Final Project Theme: TBA
Assignment: DESIGN 04: Group Brainstorm (due before class on 5 Oct)
Assignment: FEED 02: Project Idea Check-in (due before class on 14 Oct)
Reading: How to Run a Design Critique by Scott Berkun
Reading: How to Give and Receive Criticism by Scott Berkun
Reading: How Art Can Be Thought: A Handbook for Change by Allan deSouza (selection)
30 Sep Modes, Metaphors, and Input Devices
Slides
Reading: None
Assignment Due: DESIGN 04: Group Brainstorm
Assignment: FEED 03: Mid-Semester Feedback (due before class on 12 Oct)
Assignment: DESIGN 05: Project Idea (due before class on 19 Oct)
Section: Using APIs with XXX
WEEK 7
05 Oct Graphic Design, Typography, and Design Language
Slides
Reading: Pass, Victoria, et al., eds. “Decentering whiteness in Design History Resources.(Selection)
Reading: The Black Experience in Graphic Design: 1968 and 2020
Reading: Interactive Guide to Web Typography
Reading: Butterick's Practical Typography (Read Chapter on "Why Typography Matters" and "Text Formatting")
Reading: All About the Grid System
07 Oct Visual Information Design
Slides
Reading: None
Assignment Due: FEED 03: Mid-Semester Feedback (due before class Oct)
Section: Teamwork and Idea Selection
WEEK 8
12 Oct Usability Testing
Slides
Reading: How To Do Experiments. Doing Psychology Experiments. Chap 2. Martin
Assignment Due: DESIGN 05: Project Idea (due before class)
Assignment: DESIGN 06: Understanding Users and Competitive Analysis (due 30 Oct)
Assignment: DESIGN 07: Low-Fidelity Prototype (due 2 Nov)
Assignment: DESIGN 08: Low-Fidelity Feedback (Due 12 Nov)
Assignment: DESIGN 09: Coding Towards High-Fidelity (Due 23 Nov)
14 Oct Data Analysis
Slides
Reading: How To Interpret Experimental Results. Doing Psychology Experiments. Chap 12. Martin.
Section: Team Progress Check-in Meetings
WEEK 9
19 Oct Human Centered AI
Slides
Reading: ****How To Do Experiments. Doing Psychology Experiments. Chap 2. Martin
Assignment Due: DESIGN 05: Project Idea (due before class)
Assignment: DESIGN 06: Understanding Users and Competitive Analysis (due 30 Oct)
Assignment: DESIGN 07: Low-Fidelity Prototype (due 2 Nov)
Assignment: DESIGN 08: Low-Fidelity Feedback (Due 12 Nov)
Assignment: DESIGN 09: Coding Towards High-Fidelity (Due 23 Nov)
21 Oct Working with Unpredictable Black Boxes - Prompting as Design and the "gulf of envisioning"
Slides
Reading: How To Interpret Experimental Results. Doing Psychology Experiments. Chap 12. Martin.
Section: Team Progress Check-in Meetings
WEEK 10
26 Oct Open Class: Project Idea Checkin
Assignment Due: PROG 02-B (due 11:59pm on 16 Oct)
28 Oct No Class • Midterm Week
Section: Team Progress Check-in Meetings
WEEK 11
02 Nov Communicating Ideas: Presentation, Documentation, Videos, and Images
Slides
Assignment Due: DESIGN 06: Understanding Users and Competitive Analysis (due 30 Oct)
04 Nov Studio: TBD
Slides
Section: Team Progress Check-in Meetings
WEEK 12
09 Nov Studio: TBD
Assignment Due: DESIGN 08: Low-Fidelity Feedback (Due 12 Nov)
Assignment Due: FEED 05: Mid-Project Peer Evaluations (due 13 Nov)
11 Nov Veterans Day
No Class
WEEK 13
16 Nov Worksession / Check-in
Assignment Due: DESIGN 08: Functionality Design and User Feedback (due before class)
Section: Team Progress Check-in Meetings
18 Nov Worksession / Check-in
Section: TBA
WEEK 14
23 Nov Worksession
No Class
Assignment Due: DESIGN 09: Coding Towards High-Fidelity (Due 23 Nov)
25 Nov THANKSGIVING
No Class
Section: None
WEEK 15
30 Nov Worksession / Open Team Check-ins
02 Dec Worksession / Open Team Check-ins
FINAL CRITIQUE
08 Dec Tue of RRR Week • FINAL CRITIQUE
Final Presentations
Session 1 • 10am-12pm
Session 2 • 2pm-4pm
10 Dec Thur of RRR Week • PUBLIC ONLINE SHOWCASE
Public Showcase online •10–12pm
11 Dec Fri of RRR Week • FINAL MATERIALS
Final materials due on 11 Dec (11:59pm)
