INTERACTION DESIGN: DESIGN METHODOLOGY SEMINAR

Spring 2025

Instructors:

Dr Joëlle Bitton

Prof. Jürgen Spath

OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES 

The Interaction Design Methods course is proposed as an ongoing 'workshop', where theory is practiced and where we share knowledge and learn from each other. This course proposes to investigate the methods of interaction design and the challenges they pose, with an outlook 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.

Each student is responsible to advance the collective knowledge of the class, by becoming an investigator and by discovering sources, case studies, and possible new methods as well. Students should also mentor each other.
During the overlap with your studio courses, some of the methods reviewed will be put into practice. 

The course is a work-in-progress inviting experiments in pedagogy and in modulating theory and practice together. The field of Interaction Design is dynamic and thus calls for mixing foundation literature with new proposals, while keeping a critical perspective and staying open to shifts. As we progress in uncovering the topics of method class, we also put a strong emphasis on developing essential skills: reading, writing and reflecting, researching, including diverse sources, evaluating data, identifying assumptions and biases, presenting arguments, mediating discussions, sharing knowledge and owning your voice.

COURSE OUTLINE 

See calendar for when the course takes place. From week 2, two students are responsible for one session around a topic, where they present literature, case studies, mediate discussion and activity. See topics below. 

Note that sessions may take place either on-site or online - but hybrid session (both on-site and online) are not possible. 

EXPECTATIONS, GRADING

In pair, students provide support and reflection for each other during the semester.
At the end of the course, the student grade themselves with a short written summary and reasoning included. *Teachers may modulate the grade with their own evaluations.

Following criteria for the final grading:

Exposé & Activity 30% 

Handout 30%

Participation in discussions 20% 

Blog 20%

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.

Any assignment that remains unfulfilled receives a failing grade. 

DELIVERABLES

EACH SESSION

• BLOG FEATURING:
  • READINGS & RESPONSE NOTES
    For everyone, there are several mandatory readings per session and response notes are expected for each paper and have to be uploaded on the blog (see below) by the prior Sunday evening. 
    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.
    
    
  • Reflective notes on class discussions/learnings
    A separate 'reflective journal' is developed by each student to share learnings from the seminar. It should be in the form of an online blog/vlog/podcast (ie. WordPress, Notion, Medium, TikTok, Insta or other) to share with the public your discoveries, findings, reflections, etc. The journal should be structured in a generally comprehensible manner
    
    

1-TIME PRESENTATION & ACTIVITY:

Two assigned students each prepares a 8 minute-exposé on the topic on the week, coming from two distinct angles, and with arguments from the selected texts as well as 3-4 additional sources that they each research themselves. The additional sources should include academic references, from various genders, and from various countries / cultures. Case studies should be presented as well. Each exposé should provoke questions, inspire ideas.

The week before the presentations, students send instructors a 1 - 2-pages written discussion (handout), by the Wednesday 14.00, prior to the class to get enough time for feedback and possible changes. The paper should include title, author, date, context, summary, bibliography.

Additionally, the students presenting have to engage the class actively with a short exercise/task and mediate a discussion with 1 main question.

The structure of the class should include:

• 2 x 8 minutes exposés 
• 15-minutes short exercise/activity where a method related to the topic is applied 
• 1 or 2 questions for the class to discuss 
• Larger discussion, feedback and perspectives from the tutor 
• a 5mn break

COURSE MATERIALS 

Readings are made available in the shared IAD server.

CALENDAR

Week 1 - 17.03.25 - 9.00-10.30 - Design/Undesign: Perspectives and biases (jb)

Lecture : “Design/Undesign: Perspectives and biases”
In this lecture, we revisit a selection of interaction design moments with case studies, and we consider the implications of the field, most notable how technology and design intertwine. This leads us to grasp the biases, expectations, assumptions we design with, and what could be ways to address them within the design process itself.

Readings: 

Week 2 - 24.03.24 - 13.00-14.30 - Observations & Experiences (jb)

In design fields, observations are at the center point of being inspired and delving into projects: general observations of societal aspects, of our surroundings, of everyday life, specific observations of a context, of an issue, of behaviours, of non-human perspectives, etc.. Observations take place in the field & public spaces, in private spaces, in media, on social networks, in conversations, etc...  They lead us to create and design experiences, in the always evolving framework of interaction design. How do we build on the legacy of methodologies and innovate for always improved practices?

• Students: 
  
  

Readings

Höök, K. & Löwgren, J. 2020. "Characterizing Interaction Design by Its Ideals: A Discipline in Transition". In She-Ji. 

Nova, N. 2014. "Design Ethnography?" & "Field Research". In Beyond Ethnography. How Designers Practice Ethnographic Research. pp 29-55. SHS (Berlin) & HEAD Genève.

Week 3 - 31.03.25 - 13.00-14.30 - Prototyping concepts, prototyping everything (jb)

The prototype is the actuation of an idea, it also can be its evaluation, its dissemination, its validation.. even all at once? In the field of interaction design, we consider learning by doing, a form of "practicing theory". We also value demo as a form of communicating a concept. From the first sketch to a low-tech version, from a role play to a fully-functional artefact, the prototype can go through many iterations and could go for many more. What does a prototype prototype? Where does the prototype stop?

• Students: 
  
  

Readings

Houde, S., & Hill, C. 1997. "What Do Prototypes Prototype?", in M. Helander, T. Landauer, and P. Prabhu (eds.): Elsevier Science B. V: Amsterdam. Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction.

Schleicher D. & al. 2010. "Bodystorming as Embodied Designing". In Interactions.

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. 

Week 4 - 07.04.25 - 13.00-14.30 - Pop Culture & Storytelling  (jb)

Stories and narratives surround us, influence us via fictions, movies, pop culture, games, advertising, marketing, scams, propaganda, etc... Considerations of how technology has shaped our society or speculations of how it will do so in the future permeate our collective imagination which in turns is reflected in the design we produce. We use metaphors, refer to myths, get inspired from old and new rituals. This travels most notably through pop culture expressions: movies, music, graphic novels, tv shows, literature, crafts, subcultures, etc...   In interaction design, we also use storytelling to demo a concept and disseminate a project, it is also used as forms of prototyping and of evaluation. It can also be used to sell a project, to highlight its qualities, to hide its flaws...  How do we use stereotypes to tell stories? How does pop culture narratives influence design and vice-versa? 

• Students: 
  
  

Readings

Kirby, D. 2010. "The Future Is Now: Diegetic Prototypes and the Role of Popular Films". In Generating Real-World Technological Development. Social Studies of Science.

Kien M. 2023. "Historically Informed HCI: Reflecting on Contemporary Technology through Anachronistic Fiction". In ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interactions. 29, 6.

Rosén, A. et al. 2022. "Towards More-Than-Human-Centred Design: Learning from Gardening". In International Journal of Design.

Week 5 - 14.04.25 - 9.30-11.00 - Outcomes and Findings, Evaluating with participants (jb)

If we consider that we practice user-centered design (human and non-human), it seems evident that it's the users we design for that should validate assumptions, test developments, and possibly take part in the design process itself. Could this also mean that the uses define the success or the failure of the project in regards to its intentions and expectations? What does it mean to evaluate an interaction design work, what are the tools? Is evaluation even necessary in the context of design? How do we gather findings from a process?

• Students: 
  
  

Readings

Baumer, E., Blythe M., and Tanenbaum, T. 2020. "Evaluating Design Fiction: The Right Tool for the Job". In Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference.

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.

Preece, J., Rogers, Y., & Sharp, H. 2002. “Introducing Evaluation”. In Interaction Design. Wiley.

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Week 6 - 06.05.24 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? 

• Students: 
  
  

Readings:

Samochowiec, J. (2020). "Future Skills: Four scenarios for the world of tomorrow". GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute. 

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]

Week 7 - 13.05.24 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.

• Students: 
  

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. 

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.

Week 08 - 27.05.24  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.

• Students: 
  

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. 

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 09 - 03.06.24 Design Fiction, Speculative Design, Artistic research (mn)

Where design and art collide: what is your design standing for? How do we reboot the design field?

• Students: 
  

Readings

Week 10 - 10.06.24 Teach or Why Were You Here? (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).

JOURNALS/BLOGS LINKS