Second Year
- Narrative and Interactivity (7 weeks)
- David Womack
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A well-told story transcends any particular medium, and at a very basic level, defines a satisfying interaction. The study of narrative offers designers a tool for exploring the user journey and understanding that journey from different perspectives. This course will explore aspects of narrative such as plot, setting and point-of-view, and train students to use narrative as a way to frame and evaluate interactions.
- Entrepreneurial Design
- Gary Chou – Christina Cacioppo
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Building on concepts of methods of interaction design, this studio course focuses on needs analysis, framing, prototyping, iteration and collaboration in an applied context. Each student engages in semester-long projects that bring together business goals, user needs, and technology.
- Content Strategies (7 weeks)
- Paul Ford
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The Web has made everyone a publisher—and content is a critical component of user experience. This course will explore content development as an aspect of creating user experiences, and will pay particular attention to its relationship to information architecture. Students will examine different approaches to audio, video, and especially text, exploring ways that content can improve user experience (while looking out for legal and copyright pitfalls). We will also address the basics of content management and examine how to develop a large-scale editorial strategy that can be used to guide the creation of websites with millions of pages.
- Design Management
- Karen McGrane
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Once a product or service is designed, it needs to be managed. Whether as an entrepreneur, a design consultant, or an in–house designer, integrating the creative and business sides is rarely easy. This course will illustrate how to mediate between the two, empowering students to merge the design and business aspects effectively. We will examine design in its real–world, contemporary contexts (rather than silos such as product design, Web design, or mobile design) to realize its broad potential and reach.
- Public Interfaces
- Jake Barton – Ian Curry
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Concepts and methods of layout, grid and typography form the foundation for constructing meaningful layouts and, in turn, effective communications. This course will explore how to create meaning through useful, usable, and desirable interfaces across the complex environments of different media at different scales. Understanding basic concepts through the development of a vernacular, students will be encouraged to re–interpret concepts for interactive environments.
- Design and the Service Experience
- Phi-Hong D. Ha
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Throughout our lives we encounter services that span industries as varied as health care, banking, transportation, and retail. In fact, the service sector makes up nearly 70 percent of the U.S. economy, yet frustrating service experiences still abound. This course will examine the increasing need for the improvement of services and the development of service innovations. Working individually and in groups, students will address the challenges and opportunities in designing for the service sector through methods such as blueprinting, service enactment, and front– and back–stage processing. By employing these methods in combination with interaction design approaches, students will be able to gain an understanding of service ecologies and learn to choreograph human-centered, responsive, and memorable services.
- Leadership, Ethics, and Professional Practices
- Roger Mader
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Creative business practices, ethical standards and effective networking are the cornerstones of this course. Through studio tours, students observe examples of successful practice. Case studies will illustrate the importance of creating viable and responsible business models. Through studio tours, guest lectures, case activities and small group activities, students will observe and critique examples of successful, flawed and failed practices. Upon completion of this course, students will be equipped to describe and cite examples of creative business practices, ethical standards, and effective networking in the business of design management.
- Thesis II
- Rachel Abrams
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Design problems invariably grow out of real human needs–the needs of a community. Thesis consultation focuses on advising and shaping the thesis project with critiques from the student peers, advisors, and where needed, the community. The students will work directly with a mentor to develop their project into one that is equally rigorous in concept and execution. With the support and guidance of a faculty advisor, and evaluations from a panel of industry experts, students will come away with a market-ready product or service.
- Lecture Series II
- Liz Danzico
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- Thesis III
- Chloe Gottlieb
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Selecting the appropriate format for a fully functional thesis project is critical to the project’s success. It must include proof of concept that demonstrates the depth of research and application, and also demonstrate the research, strategy and artifacts that have been gained through second-year coursework. Each student must present a thesis project to be approved by the thesis committee and the program chair.
Recently
- Behind the Festival
- Vision for sustainable NYC
- On the Last Day
- Data Narratives: The Art and Craft of Information Visualization, a new two-week summer program
- Faculty member Carla Diana speaks at TEDxEmory
- MFA candidate Catherine Young invited to speak on happiness at TEDxNewHaven
- Thinking Thesis: David Bellona’s Coal Button Launch
