Sweet Dreams Are Made of This 2025

INTERACTION DESIGN THEORY SEMINAR 5th semester

Fall 2025

Lecturer:
Dr Joëlle Bitton, joelle.bitton@zhdk.ch 

Office hours by appointment 

Class sessions take place Mondays afternoons - times may variate. See calendar for details.
 

OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES 

"Sweet Dreams are Made of This" proposes to dive into the very essence of interaction design agency and how it interpolates with embodied interaction.

In the first half of the course, we'll uncover aspects of observation, attention, creativity, intention and how they drive a design endeavour. We use verbs that are very action-based, not only because they shape the field of 'interaction', but also because they indicate a trajectory - whether the ideal one or the practical one. What moves you? What do you dream about? How do you position yourself? How do you stand for what you propose? How do you de-center yourself? 

In the second half of the course that runs more closely in parallel with the course 'Embodied Interaction' we'll have many corresponding topics. We will look into the meanings of embodiment and how methods and tools of embodied interaction can be applied to your studies. The course will also reflect aspects that you cover in Bits&Atoms this Fall.

The course is structured around materials discussions showcasing social engagement and aesthetic movements, various assignments such as fictional dream-like scenarios and practical workshop formats.

Different than previous theory classes, with mostly discussions based on readings, this class is a continuous assignment-based exploration of your engagement - as such there is no "final essay/assignment". It is proposing that you follow through and ride the wave, with joy.

COURSE OUTLINE 

10 sessions structured around the notions of embodiment, sensing, positioning (or unpositioning).
 

EXPECTATIONS AND GRADING

Grades will be based on the oral and written presentations and on class participation. Contributing to constructive group feedback is an essential aspect of class participation. Regular attendance is required. Two or more unexcused absences will affect the final grade. Arriving late on more than one occasion will also affect the grade.
Sessions in-class will not be available on Zoom.
Participation in Zoom sessions implies dedicated attention to the class (ie. no multi-tasking with travelling at the same time on train, car, etc).

Class participation 20% 

Class assignments & reading notes 80%

Any assignment that remains unfulfilled receives a failing grade. 

COURSE MATERIALS 

Readings are made available in the shared IAD server

CALENDAR

Session 01 – 15.09.25 – What is the Action? - Observation in-situ (meet in Lochergut) - 13h30

We meet in a public space for the 1st session of this course and practice individual moments of observation that we share later as a group.

Assignments for the following week:

-Do a short 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). Share on the server by the following Monday 9.00.

Session 02 – 22.09.25 – Creative Positioning (Zoom) - 13h30

Presenting the syllabus & arc of the course.
Discussion of the observations assignment.
Short Writing exercises in-class as reflections on your positioning as the designer you are today.

Assignments for the following week:

- Make a 30s video as online content that 'summarizes' your perspective on interaction (or a related topic of choice). Aesthetics and delivery formats of your message are up to you, it can be inspired by styles from TikTok, Insta, etc... Publish online or share via transfer platform.

-Reading:
J. Nicenboim, MLJ Søndergaard, J Lindley, A Reddy, Y Strengers, J Redstrom, and E Giaccardi. 2024. Unmaking-with AI: Tactics for Decentering through Design. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact. 31, 6, Article 82.
Send reading notes by email.

Session 03 – 29.09.25 – De-centering part I (Zoom) - 13h30

Presentation of the videos and discussion.
Discussion on the reading & notions of de-centering/undesigning.

Assignments for the next session:

- Readings:

G. Guo. 2025. Designing Socio-Spatial Interfaces for Embodied and Situated Social Interaction. in Proceedings CHI EA 25.
S. Nylander and J. Tholander. 2014. Designing for Movement: The Case of Sports. In Proceedings of the 2014 International Workshop on Movement and Computing.

Send reading notes by email.

*Session 04 - 6.10.25

Verena Ziegler will discuss with you approaches to creative research, ahead of free flow seminar 

*Session 05 - 13.10.25

Research methods reviewed with the ZHdK library

Session 06 - 27.10.25 - Embodied Interaction (Toni-Areal)

Lecture on Embodied Interaction & Sensing + class discussion

Assignments for the following week:

- watch the Importance of Self-Delusion

Session  07 – 3.11.25 – Embodying Abstraction (Toni-Areal)

Group exercice -in-class: rapid prototyping of collective experience based on an abstract topic

Sessions 08 - 10.11.25 – Data / Body / Choreography (Toni-Areal)

How data, body and choreography can relate to one another? Following on the prior session, we look into how embodied interaction can further interpretation of data.

Assignments for the following week:

- Read/watch your classmates observations

Session 09 – 17.11.25 – De-centering part II (Zoom)

Discussion of the observations assignments, led by students. What do they tell about our entanglements with how we perceive our surrounding world / ecosystems and how we can connect?

Assignment for the following week:

- Dream

- Reading (tbc) - Send reading notes by email

Session 10 – 24.11.25 – Sweet Dreams (Zoom)

In many of us, there is an ongoing dialog between what is and what might be. What is your ambition? What should you be aware of in terms of responsibility? Who is your audience? Who do we do this for?

How to bring together everything we touched upon this semester: intellectually, sensorially etc..

During class, share your ultimate dream.