Course Philosophy and Viewpoint
There is a particular set of viewpoints around which this course is constructed:
Upon completion of this course, students should have a practical appreciation for interface and interaction design and understand how to build effective user experiences.
- The development of user interfaces should be user-centric which means that a significant part of interaction design design is studying and profiling users, the tasks they intend to carry out, and the environments in which the interface will be used.
- Designing usable interfaces draws on a number of different disciplines, including cognitive psychology, graphic design, theory of perception, computer science, information design, sociology, and statistics.
- User interfaces are created in an iteratively through continually refined prototypes, mockups, and incremental implementation in a collaborative manner.
- Theoretical models assist interface designers in choosing appropriate courses of action.
- Evaluation is constant and methodical guided by controlled user studies, reviews, and adherence to guidelines and standards.
Upon completion of this course, students should have a practical appreciation for interface and interaction design and understand how to build effective user experiences.