INTERACTION DESIGN THEORY SEMINAR 5th semester
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"Sweet Dreams are Made of This" proposes to dive into the very essence of interaction design agency, ahead of the thesis semester. How does a design project emerges from a particular interest? Should it have an impact? And at what scale? Through a variety of references, we'll address notions of dreams, contribution, position and ownership, especially as they relate to contemporary societal questions. We usually consider that a novel contribution to knowledge has to be read about, dreamed about in a visionary sense, used and related to, through hands on testing, iterations and prototyping at various stages, explored orally and visually, and discussed by peers and tutors. The course is structured around materials discussions showcasing social engagement, activism and aesthetic movements, various assignments such as fictional dream-like scenarios and practical workshop formats.
This course is also a guided exercise in your autonomy to look for relevant references and to integrate them as part of your research endeavour. You should start early with topics of interest for your diploma work, even it is expected that they might evolve or even change completely. In that sense, even if your topic changes, the questions & methods that will be addressed in this class will be valid throughout your diploma work. Different than previous theory classes, with mostly discussions based on readings, this class is a continuous assignment-based exploration of your research engagement. It is required that you follow through and ride the wave.
COURSE OUTLINE
12 sessions structured around the notions of engagement, positioning, research and ownership.
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Detailed program is indicated in the Free Flow program (still in progress). This is 2-day deep dive into your research interests and ways to let them flow, in conversation with mentors.
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In a second individual exercise, you should come up with examples of research questions that are derived directly from the works you created in past classes.
Readings:Learning by doing:
- reading tba
Be familiar with some research terminology:
- Mackenzie, N.,Knipe, S. 2006. "Research Dilemmas: Paradigms, methods and methodology". Issues in Education Research, 16 (2), 193 – 205.
Look at examples of research & design in HCI:
- Zimmermann J., Forlizzi J. 2014. "Research Through Design in HCI" in J.S. Olson and W.A. Kellogg (eds.), Ways of Knowing in HCI, Springer Science+Business Media, New York.
Learning by doing:
- reading tba
Assignment for the following week: do an observation of a situation that you want to tackle, and if applicable meet and interview the people involved. Present the results in a short essay with visuals (max. 1-2 pages). Publish in your blog and share on the server.
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Jarvis, N., Cameron, D., Boucher, A. 2012. Attention To Detail: Annotations of a design process. pp. 11-20.
Gaver, W. 2011. "Making spaces: How design workbooks work" in Proceedings of CHI 2011, Vancouver.
Assignment for the following week: dream.
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John Thackara. 2006. In the Bubble: Designing in a Complex World. MIT Press. excerpt.
Another reading on politics of tech - tbaLilly Irany. 2015. 'Justice for Data Janitors' in PublicBooks.org.
Session 11 – 02.12.2018 – Own It
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In a parallel note, a thesis work has to stand the grounds of an academic endeavour while bringing a unique contribution.
What is truly unique about your contribution?
Exercise tba-in-class: list where your thesis work is not changing anything.
Readings:
Eco, U. 2015. How to Write a Thesis. MIT Press. 1st ed. 1977.
Koskinen, I., Zimmerman, J., Binder, T., Redström, J., & Wensveen, S. 2011. Design research through practice: From lab, field, and showroom. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann.
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In a loop back to where we started, we'll end this class with a look at impact and contribution, particularly in relation to current societal matters.description tba
draft
Transformation: How could you change cause and effect? Could you reverse anything? Could you combine some ideas - prototype and iterate them with different methods? Could you mix them up with other contents? Is it possible to combine or split up different components of the service or product you want to create?
We will How will your topic has shaped itself in the past few months? See where you started and where you're going.
In that political realm of positiong, we'll have a look at the "Center for Political Beauty" https://www.politicalbeauty.de, and how this center develops innovative forms of political activism to provoke, rise awareness and to preserve humanitarianism.Does your research direction and questions have references to other topics, what can be emulated, or does it point to other alternatives? What could be modified? What could be reconfigured?
Final Assignment: deadline 12.12.19 - NO extension!
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