Spatial Interaction Design

9 units · Undergraduate

Intermittent: 9 units This course explores Spatial Interaction Design (Spatial IxD), an emerging field at the intersection of Design, Architecture, and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Students will develop a vocabulary for Spatial IxD and learn its core principles and methods while prototyping room-scale experiences using motion and body tracking, dynamic projection mapping, and wave field synthesis. Through hands-on projects, students will investigate how spatial relationships—proximity, orientation, configuration, location, and locomotion—can shape co-located, shared, and multisensory experiences within physical environments. They will explore how technology can be integrated into these environments in ways that help people attune to their surroundings and connect with one another, from images that extend beyond screens and onto surrounding surfaces to sound that moves dynamically around people and objects. Class sessions combine lectures, reading discussions, technical tutorials, working sessions, and design reviews, providing students with both conceptual grounding and practical experience in designing interactions that move beyond conventional devices and interfaces. These activities are also informed by collaborations with industry partners, bringing external perspectives and real-world contexts into the course.