Interaction Design: Applications for Public Health

3 units

Through a blend of presentations from practitioners, classroom lectures, readings, discussions, and hands-on exercises, this course will engage principles and methods of interaction design within the context of health challenges. Broadly defined, interaction design is the practice of designing products, environments, systems, and services with a focus on behavior and user experience. We will take on an in-depth challenge in an area such as transportation or community health resources and work in cross-disciplinary design teams with an external partner organization. Students will gain experience in planning and executing a human-centered design process featuring research, ideation, synthesis, concept development, prototypes, and a final presentation, which may include visual design, animation, and sound. Students will work in teams to develop several intermediate project deliverables, such as prototypes and sketches. No prior coursework is necessary, although experience with Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign is helpful.