Are you interested in exploring the nature and aesthetics of interaction design? Come and learn how to be creative in a hands-on studio environment.
This course focuses on interaction design foundations, history, critique, aesthetics, and contemporary issues. It provides a great intro to new practitioners as well as an in-depth exploration of interaction design for more experienced designers.
Participants will be given the space and guidance to delve into formal and aesthetic aspects of interaction design while getting experience working in a studio environment.
Through a series of lectures, films, history, and studio practice, participants will explore the nature and aesthetics of interaction design in digital and physical space through individual and team work, design synthesis, and more.
This workshop is for anyone who wishes to explore interaction design in both a theoretical and practical way. For those coming from another design discipline, this is a great intro into what makes interaction design unique.
For those without previous design experience, this is a chance to learn the basics of how to work like a designer, as well as the detailed context of interaction design specifically.
Prerequisites
None.
How will I Learn?
A learning-by-doing approach provides hands-on experience with interaction design through small team projects. Through a mix of lectures and studio work, participants will explore the aesthetics, history, and practice of interaction design, presenting their own prototypes by the end of the week.
What will I learn?
Design foundations, theory, history, and practice
How to give and receive critique
How to be creative within constraints and on-demand
Practice working individually and in small teams.
Erik is an independent designer, researcher, and strategist based in Grand Rapids, MI, USA. His background in anthropology, semiotics and human-computer interaction help him make sense of complex situations and create meaningful interactions and experiences for his clients and their customers.
Erik’s work has covered websites, applications, products, wearables, environments, and services across domains from personal electronics, military, financial, medical, industrial robotics, farming and agriculture, education, and cooking.Erik has particular interest in ethnographic research, information visualization, embodied interactions, emotions, and product strategy.
His clients have ranged from small startups to Fortune 500 companies, including companies like Yaskawa Robotics, Panasonic, General Dynamics, Case New Holland, Select Sires, Target, Extole and Bluebox among others. While Erik was at MAYA Design in Pittsburgh, he helped develop the initial Human Centered Design curriculum that became the core of what is now the Luma Institute.
Erik has spoken and run workshops around the world at Interaction, UX Week, MidwestUX, IA Summit, EuroIA, UX Lisbon, among others, on topics ranging from general theory and practice, ethnography, research, culture, embodied interactions, and Arduino.
In 2010, Erik co-founded the MidwestUX conference, an intimate, regional UX conference creating a space for distributed design practitioners to form connections at a human scale. I
n 2018, he finished serving a 2-year term as President of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA), where he has previously served as a Board Member and Local Leader.
Mitsu is a multidisciplinary designer from India with a strong foundation in both Interaction Design and Product Design. Her experience spans a wide range of design disciplines, including product development, research, design strategy, UX/UI design, visual design, system design, space design, and even game design!
Mitsu graduated with a degree in Product Design from the prestigious National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad, India, and further honed her skills, graduating with honours from the Interaction Design Programme at Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID).
Mitsu is a passionate advocate for hands-on design exploration and believes in the power of prototyping to bring ideas to life. She champions the concept of "learning through play" and designs with a focus on creating fun and engaging experiences and interactions.
Mitsu's extensive experience allows her to tailor design principles to various projects and industries. Her vast skillset makes her a valuable asset, guiding teams towards creating impactful products and experiences.
When not designing, Mitsu finds balance in activities like yoga, long walks, and being in nature. She enjoys hand-lettering notes, sending postcards and connecting with people through her creative pursuits.