INTERACTION DESIGN: DESIGN METHODOLOGY SEMINAR
Spring 2022
Instructors:
Dr Joëlle Bitton
joelle.bitton@zhdk.ch
Mona Neubauer
mona.neubauer@zhdk.ch
Office hours by appointment
Class sessions include a lecture/discussion each Monday from 10.30-12.30. Starting in week 3 and continuing for the rest of the semester, two students will give presentations every week.
OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES
This course proposes to investigate the methods of interaction design and the challenges they pose, with a particular focus on human-centred, non-human centred & planet-centred design. With notions of cultural contexts, historical overviews, and case studies, we’ll discuss the foundations of interaction design methods and their evolution. During the overlap with the Interaction Design process course, some of these concepts will be put into practice.
COURSE OUTLINE
From the third week, each course will be structured around two student presentations of fifteen minutes each and class discussions, with occasionally an additional lecture from the instructor or guest lecturer.
EXPECTATIONS AND GRADING
Grades will be based on the oral and written presentations, final essay, the reading notes, reflections on blog and on class participation. Contributing to constructive group feedback is an essential aspect of class participation. Regular attendance is required (80%). Absences have to be excused (medical notes, etc). Arriving late on more than one occasion will also affect the grade.
Oral presentations 30%
Final essay 30%
Participation in discussions 20%
Journal/Blog 20%
Any assignment that remains unfulfilled receives a failing grade.
ASSIGNMENTS
Each student prepare separately a 15-minutes presentation on one angle of the topic of the day, using the 2 selected texts + the additional readings + 3-4 additional sources that they identify themselves. These additional sources should include academic and non-academic references, from various genders, and from various countries / cultures. Case studies should be presented as well to support the arguments.
Additionally, the students presenting have to engage the class with active participation with a short exercise/task. (Be mindful to keep the time).
Both students lead a general discussion with 1 main question at the end.
The presentations can be organised in different formats. Possible presentation formats are:
The presentations should include a 1 or 2 pages written discussion, sent to the instructor by email the prior Wednesday 14.00, to get enough time for feedback and to include possible changes.
The paper should include: title, author, date, abstract, context, summary of presentation main points, complete bibliography, case studies and references used.
The essay is a final 1500-words essay with a diversity of sources and bibliography (classified by genre: book, book chapter, journal article, conference article, academic thesis, newspaper article, web article, etc).
Pick a case study to use as your starting point for your essay. Propose your topic by Week 9 by email in the form of a short paragraph (50 words) explaining the case study, the topic and the questions at stake. We will inform the student if this is accepted in that week. The final essay has to be submitted by Week 12 - 30.05.22 (No extension possible) on the IAD server.
If possible, the paper should be written in English.
For everyone, there are 2 mandatory readings every week and response notes are expected for each paper from each student and have to be uploaded on the blog by the prior Sunday evening. Additional readings are provided for reference and it's expected that you at least browse through the papers and read abstract and intro.
Students are expected to discuss and comment in class based on the readings they have done prior to the class (they can be randomly called to share their perspectives).
A reading guideline is provided to support the reading process: identify author(s), research location/institution, country, background, date, writing style, publication, context, sources, possible biases; identify words and concepts that are not familiar to you; identify questions that are emerging. See additional tips for reading academic papers by researcher Mike Ananny.
Texts vary in length every week, this is considered part of the learning process in this class to go through a reading and gather essential ideas in a limited time.
COURSE MATERIALS
Readings are made available in the shared IAD server.
CALENDAR
Week 1 - 21.02.22 Deconstructing Interaction Design (mn)
The focus of this introductory lesson is a discussion on the term "Interaction Design".
From your short experience as design students in the first semester and your various experience as customers and users, we’ll uncover the variety of meanings of interaction design.
We’ll also look at the syllabus and go through the lectures to prepare.
Reading:
Löwgren, J. & Stolterman, E. (2007). "Thoughtful Interaction Design". The Process (15-41).
Readings to browse:
Kolko, J. (2007). "Thoughts on Interaction Design". Brown Bear LLC. (Chapter 3)
Week 2 - 28.02.22 Perspectives and biases of design (mn, jb)
Historical outline and introduction of design method theories, highlighting the notion of design, technology and human experience, as well as understanding who designs design.
Lecture : “Perspectives of Interaction Design”
Readings:
Carroll, J. M. (2000). "Making Use: Scenario-Based Design of HumanComputer Interactions". The MIT Press. “the Process”
Sanders, E. (2013). "Perspectives on Participation in Design". Transcript Verlag.
Readings to browse:
Dubberly, H. (2004). "How do you design?" Dubberly Design Office.
Mareis, C. (2013). "Wer gestaltet die Gestaltung? Zur ambivalenten Verfassung von partizipatorischem Design". Transcript Verlag.
Dreyfuss, H. S. "The designer’s role (sketch)".
Kolko, J. (2011). "Exposing the Magic of Design: A Practitioner’s Guide to the Methods and Theory of Synthesis". (Oxford Series in HumanTechnology Interaction) (1 ed.). Oxford University Press, USA.
Links to browse:
https://reinventingorganizationswiki.com/
Week 3 - 07.03.22 For who and what do we design? Do we design for anyone? (mn)
Design takes place everyday, it is inspired by popular culture and in turn inspires stories and the collective imagination. What power does design have? What kind of responsibility do designers have? What futures do we want to create?
Readings:
Samochowiec, J. (2020). "Future Skills: Four scenarios for the world of tomorrow". GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute. [chapter "Scenarios" + "Conclusion"]
Bell, Genevieve, Blythe, M. & Sengers, P. (2005). “Making by Making Strange: Defamiliarization and the Design of Domestic Technologies”. In ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction. 12. 149-173.
Readings to browse:
De Laet, M.,Mol, A. (2000). "The Zimbabwe Bush Pump: Mechanics of a Fluid Technology", In Social Studies of Science. 30/2. 225–63.
Norman, D. (1988). "The Design of Everyday Things". 54-80.
Rosner, D.,Bean, J. (2009). “Learning from IKEA Hacking: “Iʼm Not One to Decoupage a Tabletop and Call It a Day”. Proceedings of CHI’ 09.
Links to browse:
https://thanks-in-advance.com/
Week 4 - 14.03.22 Human-Computer Interaction and methods (mn)
Interaction Design and the field of HCI research are intertwined. Desk-based research, cultural probes, participatory design, ethnographic video, etc… terms that are at the heart of methodologies.
Readings:
Gaver, B., Dunne, T., Pacenti, E. (1999). “Design: Cultural probes”. In Interactions, 6(1), 21-29.
Oulasvirta, A., Kurvinen, E., & Kankainen, T. (2003). “Understanding contexts by being there: case studies in bodystorming". In Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 7(2), 125-134.
Readings to browse:
Buur, J., Fraser, E., Oinonen, S., & Rolfstam, M. (2010). “Ethnographic video as design specs”. In Proceedings of SIGCHI Australia’ 10.
Danzico, L. (2010). “From Davis to David: Lessons from Improvisation”. In Interactions.
Fogg, B.J. (2003). “Conceptual Designs”. In Laurel, Brenda (ed.). Design Research. Methods and Perspectives.
Sanders, E., Stappers, P. J. (2008). “Cocreation and the new landscapes of design”. In CoDesign, 4(1), 5–18.
Verplank, B. (2008). Interaction Design Sketchbook.
Links to browse:
https://toolbox.hyperisland.com/
https://www.designkit.org/methods/
Week 5 - 21.03.22 Innovation for all (mn)
The history and practice of design is following that of technology, how do they correlate in notions of innovation and creativity?
Readings:
Kelley, T. (2001). "The Art Of Innovation: Lessons In Creativity From IDEO, America’s Leading Design Firm". Crown Business. 23-52.
Franzini, L., Herzog, R., Rutz, S., Ryser, F., Ziltener, K., Zwicky, P. (2021). “Postwachstum? Aktuelle Auseinandersetzungen um einen grundlegenden gesellschaftlichen Wandel". edition 8.
chapter ["Die Postwachtumsökonomie als plünderungsfreier Zukunftsentwurf, Paech, N., page 73-82]
chapter ["Von der imperialen zur konvivialen Technik", Vetter, A., page 159-167]
Readings to browse:
Ou, J., Dublon, G., Cheng, C., Heibeck, F., Willis, K.D.D. & Ishii, H. (2016). “Cilllia - 3D Printed Micro-Pillar Structures for Surface Texture, Actuation and Sensing”. In Proceedings of CHI ‘16.
Seago, A., Dunne, A. (1999). "New Methodologies in Art and Design Research: The Object as Discourse". In Design Issues. 15:2. Summer 1999.
Rhys, J., Haufe, P., Sells, E., Iravani, P., Olliver, V., Palmer, C. and Bowyer, A. (2011). “RepRap - The Replicating Rapid Prototyper.” In Robotica, 29.
Week 6 - 28.03.22 The experience and the user-experience (jb)
At the heart of the design is the human experience: how to keep track of it?
Readings
Bitton, J., S. Agamanolis, and M. Karau, “RAW: Conveying minimally-mediated impressions of everyday life with an audio-photographic tool”. In Proceedings of CHI 2004.
boyd, danah. 2007. “Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life.” In MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning – Youth, Identity, and Digital Media Volume (ed. David Buckingham). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Readings to browse:
Buchenau, M. & Fulton Suri, J. 2000. “Experience Prototyping”. In Proceeding of DIS ’00.
Merholz, P., Wilkens, T., Schauer, B., & Verba, D. (2008). Subject To Change:
Creating Great Products & Services for an Uncertain World: Adaptive Path on Design. O’Reilly Media, Inc. (Chapter 1 + 5)
Horst, Heather. 2011. Free, Social, and Inclusive: Appropriation and Resistance of New Media Technologies in Brazil. In International Journal of Communication. 5. 437–462.
Kaye, Joseph, Levitt, M. K., Nevins, J., Golden, J. & Schmidt, V. “Communicating Intimacy One Bit at a Time”. In Proceedings of CHI ‘05.
Week 7 - 04.04.22 The question of the prototype (jb)
The prototype is the actuation of an idea, its evaluation, its dissemination, its validation all at once? Where does the prototype stop?
Readings
Montgomery, Will. 2013. “Machines for Living”. In Wire. 243. 28-35.
Houde, S., and Hill, C. 1997. "What Do Prototypes Prototype?", in Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction (2nd Ed.), M. Helander, T. Landauer, and P. Prabhu (eds.): Elsevier Science B. V: Amsterdam.
Readings to browse:
O’Sullivan, D. & Igoe, T. 2003. Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers. Premier Press..
YounKyung, L., Erik, S., & Josh, T. 2008. The anatomy of prototypes: Prototypes as filters, prototypes as manifestations of design ideas. In ACM Trans. Comput.Hum.Interact. 15(2). 1–27.
Ehn, P., & Kyng, M. 1991. Cardboard computers: Mocking-it-up or hands-on the future. In Design at Work: Cooperative Design of Computer Systems. 169–195.
Bolchini, D., Pulido, D., & Faiola, A. 2009. “ “Paper in screen” prototyping: an agile technique to anticipate the mobile experience”. In Interactions. 16(4). 29–33.
Week 8 - 11.04.22 Use of Storytelling for evaluation (jb)
Why do we document, why do we practice pitching, selling ideas? How do we share and disseminate a design? What are the critical challenging points of using storytelling as a form of evaluating a concept?
Readings
Auger, James. 2012. “Demo or die: Overcoming oddness through aesthetic experience”. In Why Robot? Speculative Design, the domestication of technology and the considered future. PhD Thesis. RCA, London.
Kim, J., Lund, A. & Dombrowski. 2010. “Mobilizing Attention: Storytelling for Innovation”. In Interactions.
Readings to browse:
Brown, D. M. (2010). “Competitive Reviews” In Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and Planning. 254-263. Berkeley: New Riders.
Quesenberry, W. & Brooks, K. 2010. “Why Stories?”. In Storytelling for User experience. Rosenfeld Media.
Loch, Christopher. 2003. Moving Your Idea Through Your Organisation. In Laurel, Brenda (ed.). Design Research. Methods and Perspectives.
**Case study: Almost twenty years apart, read how researcher Hiroshi Ishii & his colleagues present their visions of the future:
Ishii, Hiroshi & Ullmer B. 1997. “Tangible Bits: Towards Seamless Interfaces between People, Bits and Atoms”. In Proceedings of CHI ‘97.
Ishii, Hiroshi, Lakatos, D., Bonanni, L. & Labrune, J. “Radical Atoms: Beyond Tangible Bits,Toward Transformable Materials”. In Interactions. 19:1. January/ February 2012. 38-51.
Week 9 - 02.05.22 Re: Evaluation (jb)
What does it mean to evaluate an interaction design work, what are the tools, how is a project fitting its intentions? Is evaluation even necessary in the context of design?
Readings
Bardzell, J., Bolter, J., & Löwgren, J. 2010. “Interaction criticism: three readings of an interaction design, and what they get us”. In Interactions. 17:2. 32–37.
Greenberg, S., & Buxton, B. 2008. “Usability evaluation considered harmful (some of the time)”. In Proceedings of CHI ’08.
Readings to browse:
Nørgaard, M., & Hornbæk, K. 2006. “What do usability evaluators do in practice?: an explorative study of think aloud testing”. In Proceedings of DIS ‘06.
Preece, J., Rogers, Y., & Sharp, H. 2002. “Introducing Evaluation”. In Interaction Design. Wiley.
Sengers, P., & Gaver, B. 2006. “Staying open to interpretation: engaging multiple meanings in design and evaluation”. In Proceedings of DIS ‘06.
***Assignment for all: propose the topic of your essay***
Week 10 - 09.05.22 Data and visual abstractions (mn)
Diagrams, sketching, mind mapping, working with data, visualising information: this is the work of explaining to your audience, from clients, to customers, to collaborators, the essence of an argument.
Exercise: Diagrams
Readings
Buxton, B. (2007). "Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design". Morgan Kaufmann. 76-81.
Eggers, W. D., Hamill R., Ali A. (2013). “Data as the new currency. Government’s role in facilitating the exchange”. In Deloitte Review. 13. 18-31.
Readings to browse:
Fisher, D., DeLine, R., Czerwinski, M., Drucker, S. (2012). "Interactions with big data analytics". In Interactions. 19(3). 50-59.
Mackinlay, J.D., Winslow, K. "Designing Great Visualizations". Study for Tableau Software. (undated, retrieved November 2013).
Pavliscak, P. (2015). "Data-Informed Product Design". O’Reilly.
Rogers, Y., Sharp, H., Preece, J. (2002). “Identifying Needs and establishing Requirements”. In Interaction Design: Beyond Human Computer Interaction. John Wiley & Sons. 201-211.
Week 11 - 23.05.22 Design Fiction, Speculative Design, Artistic research (jb)
Where design and art collide: what is your design standing for? How do we reboot the design field?
Readings
Auger, James. 2012. “Speculative design: The products that technology could become”. In Why Robot? Speculative Design, the domestication of technology and the considered future. PhD Thesis. RCA, London.
Wakkary, Ron & Odom, William & Hauser, Sabrina & Hertz, Garnet & Lin, Henry. 2016. A short guide to material speculation: Actual artifacts for critical inquiry. interactions. 23. 44-48.
Readings to browse:
Dunne, Anthony and Raby, F. 2001. Design Noir: The Secret Life of Electronic Objects. August / Birkhäuser.
Tsaknaki, Vasiliki & Fernaeus, Y. 2016. “Expanding on Wabi-Sabi as a Design Resource in HCI”. In Proceedings of CHI ‘16.
Edmond, Ernest A. 2014. “Human Computer Interaction, Art and Experience”. In Candy, Linda & Ferguson, S. (eds.). Interactive Experience in the Digital Age. Evaluating New Art Practice. Springer.
Shedroff, N. 2012. Make it So. Rosenfeld Media.
Kakalios, James. 2005. The Physics of Superheroes. The Gotham Books Publishing Group.
Week 12 - 30.05.22 Teach (jb, mn)
For our final class, we go back to the basics of design: its pedagogy. Interaction Design is though here as a mediation for everyday life: how can you as students use your knowledge to develop your craft and to share your lessons learned.
Readings:
Ackermann, E.K. (2016). “Learning to Code: What is it? What’s In It For The Kids?— A Tribute to Seymour Papert". Trans. version from publication in Tecnologie didattiche (TD 27-2002).
Moriwaki, K., Brucker-Cohen, J. (2006). “Lessons from the scrapyard: creative uses of found materials within a workshop setting”. In AI & Society. 20:4. 506-525.
***Assignment: Submit your Final paper***
JOURNALS/BLOGS