Interaction Design WikiInteraction Design Process

Interaction Design Process FS20

Spring 2020: March 24 - April 30.

Instructors:
Dr Joëlle Bitton
joelle.bitton@zhdk.ch 

Nicole Foelsterl
nicole.foelsterl@zhdk.ch

Office hours by appointment 

The module takes place from March 24 - April 30, over 6 weeks, from Tuesday to Friday each week, 9.30-17.00 - see detailed hours in calendar below.
Class sessions include lectures, discussions, mentoring sessions, in-class exercises, home assignments and independent study blocks.
Projects are conducted in groups of 4 students. 

Overview and Objectives

This course puts the students in the context of realising an interaction design outcome from initial idea to final proposal, with a particular emphasis on field research and user-experience.
In this interaction design process, students work through the several stages of project development: Context/User Inquiry, Concept Generation, Idea Testing, Prototype Development, Evaluation and Concept Iteration. 

Following these stages of observation, creation, and evaluation, we will discuss and apply situated and user-centered methods (eg. bodystorming, context analysis, video scenarios, etc).

This course is project-based and will allow students to have a hands-on experience.
Organised in groups, students will develop innovative design concept for a product, a service or an experience. 

Topic

Systemic changes

This year, the topic for this class addresses the typical design premice of interaction designers' wishes to have a societal impact. People-centered design is at the core of interaction design studies and human-computer interaction research. What does this premice actually mean? What are the limitations, frustrations, realities of designing on the ground? The class proposes to look at proposal of changes not in term of individual behaviours but addressing if systemic changes can happen from a design proposal. We will also uncover the contradictions of a designer's responsibility, agency and idealisation. 
For this course, each group of students will engage designing in a social context that they will identify and they will argue for their intervention, in conjunction with working with people involved on the ground.

During the course the student will learn:

The student is expected to produce these final deliverables:

1. A working prototype, user-tested and evaluated
2. The presentation of this interaction design product, service and/or experience grounded on the understanding of the user and the context
3. The documentation of assignments and design process in a blog
 

Course Outline

Your project development is structured in following steps:

Expectations and Grading

Grades will be based on group presentations, class participation, home assignments, documentation (journal) and final work. 
Contributing to constructive group feedback is an essential aspect of class participation.
Regular attendance of 80% is required, whether in class or group work. Two or more unexcused absences will affect the final grade. Arriving late on more than one occasion will also affect the grade.

Final work 40%

Group presentations & mid-assignments 40% 

Journal Documentation 20%

Any assignment that remains unfulfilled receives a failing grade.  

Deliverables

Interval group presentations each week present the advancement of the group's project and highlight the specific requirements of that week.
Each presentation are structured so that each group member will introduce an aspect of the project. On average, the presentation should be 10 minutes.
The format is open: 

The final outcome of the class is a project proposal in the form of a working prototype, user-tested and represented to an external audience in the form of a film and/or a medium of your choice (installation, website, demo, etc...). For this class, there will be an emphasis on the film narrative as a way to disseminate your proposal.

A separate 'Journal' is developed by each student that reflects on learnings from the seminar. It should be in the form of an online blog (ie. WordPress, Tumblr or other):

Throughout the module, various short home assignments will be given to practice concepts discussed in class.

Course Materials

The course IAD Design Methods provides the background literature for this class.
Additional readings can be provided as the class progresses.

Teams projects

Calendar

Week 1
Into the Wild!

Tuesday 24.3

Wednesday 25.3

Thursday 26.3

Friday 27.3

Morning

(starts at 9.30 otherwise noted)



  • Introduction about the module, Note on Documentation

  • Lecture on the topic and discussion (jb)

  • Exercise, part 1: topic and group building
    (jb, nf)

Field Research

 


  • 10.00 impressions of first field research
  • 10.30 Clustering and Going back in the field.
    Sense Making (AEIO)
    (nf)

Field Research

Afternoon
(starts at 13.00 otherwise noted)


  • Exercise, part 2: topic and group building
    (jb, nf)
  • Ethnographic study
    and 
    Get prepared for
    Field Research
    (nf)   
  • About Equipment
    (nf)

Field Research

  • Group presentations: Inspirations and Field Research
    (jb, nf)
  • Expectations for the following week
  • Narrowing Down
    (nf) 

Week 2
Idea Transfers

Tuesday 31.3

Wednesday 1.4

Thursday 2.4

Friday 3.4

Morning

  • Exercise: Very rapid prototyping
  • Group Presentations:
    mock-ups
    (jb) 

Field Research and Desk-based Research
(Related work, 
state of the art)

Field Research




Field Research

Afternoon

  • Exercise: Bodystorming
    (jb)

Desk-based Research 
(Related work, 
state of the art)

  • Input: Cultural Probes and Exercise
    (jb)
  • Group presentations: Advanced concept, Related Work and User-study plan for the next 4 weeks 
    (jb, nf)

Week 3
Play

Tuesday 7.4

Wednesday 8.4

Thursday 9.4

Friday 10.4

Morning

  • Exercise: Prototyping Ideas
    (jb)

Independent Field Study


Independent Field Study

Holiday


Afternoon

Independent Field Study
  • Mentoring 
    (20mn/group)
    (jb)
  • 15.00 Group presentations:
    Advanced Prototypes
    (jb)

Week 4
Stories and Users

Tuesday 14.4

Wednesday 15.4

Thursday 16.4

Friday 17.4

Morning

  • Input: Storytelling
  • Exercise: Performance enactment
    (jb)

Independent Field Study

Independent Field Study


Independent Field Study

Afternoon

  • Input: Storyboards
    (nf)
  • Mentoring 
    (20mn/group)
    (jb)
  • Group presentations:
    Storytelling
    (jb, nf)

Week 5
Production 1

Tuesday 21.4

Wednesday 22.4

Thursday 23.4

Friday 24.4


Production Week


Production Week

 

Production Week

Production Week


Week 6
Production 2

Tuesday 28.4

Wednesday 29.4

Thursday 30.4

Friday 1.5

Morning

  • Group presentations:
    Back from the production week: recount of what was made & achieved during the week
    (jb)

Independent Field Study

Independent Study

Holiday


Afternoon

  • Mentoring: Editing
    (nf)
  • 14.00 Final Group presentations
  • Feedback session
    (jb, nf)

JB: Dr. Joëlle Bitton, NF: Nicole Foesterl