Due Date:
Mo, March 1 — present lit in class. Submit slides via Blackboard
Project 3: Role of Prototyping
Discuss the role of prototyping in the practice of interaction design. Address the value
designers/participants might get from this activity and how it connects to the larger goal of a
design project. Connect your view of prototyping with the readings we have done in class and with
your own experience Grad Seminar II
Project 4: The Big Paper
Write a (8 to 10)-page paper (+ references) dealing with a research topic related to interaction
design. The research topic you select must be approved by the instructor. Talk to the instructor as
early as possible.
What Is Interaction Design? Set 2
David Wroblewski (1991): The construction of human-computer interfaces considered as a craft. In
John Karat (ed.), Taking Software Design Seriously, Academic Press, 1-19.
Jonas Lowgren (2008): Interaction Design Considered as Craft. In T. Erickson and D. W. McDonald
(sds.), HCI Remixed, MIT Press, 199-203.
Craig Marion (1999): What is Interaction Design and What Does It Mean to You?
http://www.chesco.com/~cmarion/PCD/WhatIsInteractionDesign.html, accessed January 2005.
Jonas Lowgren and Erik Stolterman (2004): The History of Interaction Design. In Thoughtful
Interaction Design, MIT Press, 147-153.
The reading lists below are still a work in progress. Throughout the semester the lists will be
updated and students will be sent an email informing them that a change has been made.
Focus on crafting a pointed enough argument that you can fully address it within the 3 page limit.
This paper will only have a single draft. This is a 2 to 3 page paper, and it must follow the paper
template provided on blackboard. For example, you may want to focus on
how the purpose of prototyping has changed over time
how prototyping distinguishes roles within a multidisciplinary team
who should prototype in a design process and why
when it is best to prototype
how prototyping connects to sketching and how both activities connect to reflection in
an on action
… something else
All papers need a strong motivation that convinces the reader that this is a topic of importance to
the interaction design community. They also need evidence to support the claims the author
makes. Finally, you need to select a specific audience you wish to address with this paper.
Project 2: Literature Review
You will need to conduct a preliminary literature review for your final paper. Choose a topic and
investigate to see what information is known about it. Look at many sources. This is a cursory
review, so initially focus on just reading abstracts, introductions, and possible conclusions. Use
this to refine the focus of your research topic. You should have somewhere between 20 and 40
articles for your topic. Think of book chapters the same as articles.
project 1: 15%
project 2: 10%
project 3: 15%
project 4: 40%
class participation: 20%
Work is due at the beginning of class. Work that is late will be decremented 10% for every 24
hours that pass.
Course Structure
The class consists of the following four projects.
What Is Interaction Design? Set 1
Ellen Lupton and J. Abbott Miller (1999): Period Styles. In Design Writing Research, Phaidon Press.
Bill Moggridge (2007): Languages of Interaction Design. In Designing Interactions, MIT Press.
Bill Moggridge (2007): Introduction. In Designing Interactions, MIT Press, 1-14.
Nathan Shedroff (1999): Information Interaction Design: A Unified Field Theory of Design. In
Robert Jacobson, (ed.), Information Design, MIT Press, 267-292.
Criteria for grading include the following:
Participation in discussions and assignments
Ability to summarize readings
Good use of class time: attendance, discussions, and insights
Iteration on constructing and articulating an argument
Quality of reflection and communication about an issue
Spring 2010
Topics
This course will address the following topics at a rate slightly slower that 1 per week. There is a set
of readings associated with each topic.
What is interaction design?
How did the field emerge?
A broad view of the field
Threads of interaction design: engineering
Threads of interaction design: HCI
Threads of interaction design: participatory design
Threads of interaction design: narrative and communication
Threads of interaction design: experience design
Current and future themes in the field
What is design research outside of research in the practice of design?
Project 1: Paper on “What is interaction Design?”
Based on what we have read and on your own experiences, offer your voice to the ongoing
conversation on what interaction design is. Pick a specific audience you want to address:
incoming grad students in interaction design, HCI practitioners, interaction designers, other
designers, product managers, company executives, your parents, etc. Offer a narrow definition
and work to connect this with some of the themes we have discussed. Also consider focusing on
what is was, is and will be.
Instructor: John Zimmerman
Office: NSH 2504F
Office hours: by appointment (feel free to stop by)
Due Dates:
Mo, Jan 25, 2010 — preliminary draft for comments. Submit via Blackboard
We, Feb 10, 2010 — final draft. Submit via Blackboard
Grading criteria
Work and performance in the course will be evaluated on a weekly basis.
Readings
Readings will primarily take the form of handouts available on blackboard. These will serve both
as reference materials and as a beginning to an interaction design library.
Due Dates:
We, March 24 — Draft of introduction. Submit via Blackboard
Mo, April 26 — Madness presentation. Submit slides via Blackboard
We, April 28 — Final papers. Submit via Blackboard
Time: Mo and We from 10-11:20a
You will need to give a brief (5 minute or less) presentation on your literature review. This is
basically a pitch for your final paper topic, so you need to tell us up front who the audience is and
what your framing of the content will be. Provide an overview of the “conversation” taking place
within a research community. Pitch how you plan to add your voice and insights to this
conversation.
Half of the students will present on March 1 and the other half on March 3.
This course explores the literature surround the practice and research on interaction design.
Through a process of reading, discussing, researching, and writing, students will develop their
own vision of what interaction design is and where it is going. This class is intended to prepare
students working towards their masters in interaction design to develop a research
project/theme they can carry in to their thesis work.
Due Dates:
Mo, Feb 15 — Come to class prepared to pitch your topic and get feedback on your framing
Mo, Feb 24 — Final paper due via Blackboard Grad Seminar II
Students will receive a grade at mid-term and again at the end of the semester. Assignments,
timely attendance, and in-class participation are a critical part of the grade. Bringing examples
from outside of the class is considered to be an assignment and is also important. In addition,
the process of exploration is as important as the final product, so it is important that students
manage time well and devote time to reading, writing, and thinking about the content presented
each week.
The course has on textbook that unfortunately is not available at the bookstore:
Moggridge, B. Designing Interactions. Boston, MA: MIT Press, 2007.
It is important for students to learn to quickly read and extract information from books and
articles on interaction design. When reading, please keep the following questions in mind.
Answering these questions will most likely require that students do a bit more digging than just
reading the article.
Who is the author?
What is the gist of what they are saying?
Why do they want to communicate this?
When are they saying this? What is the state of interaction design at this time?
How have the developed their argument?
Is it effective? Is there a more effective approach?
Goals
By the end of the course, students are expected to demonstrate the ability to:
Critically read and discuss design and design research literature
Demonstrate a knowledge of the history, influences, and emerging themes in interaction design
Conduct a literature review
Discover and scope a research problem/question
Construct a concise argument that advances the discourse on interaction design
Clearly articulate design ideas in writing
Summarize complex ideas into short presentations (oral and written)
This is a 2 to 3 page paper, and it must follow the paper template provided on blackboard.
Students will turn in a preliminary draft for comments. They will then produce a final draft.
Article Source : Grad Seminar II
