Interaction Design Studio is a hands-on, studio-format course focused on developing creative fluency in designing interactive systems. Students learn core skills in visual design, interaction design, and user experience through iterative, low- to mid-fidelity design exercises. Emphasizing doing over lecturing, the course cultivates a practice of sketching, critique, and reflection as students explore how to give form to interfaces and behaviors. Projects evolve from paper-based designs to digital mockups, with special attention to composition, flow, and transitions. The course also examines the role of artificial intelligence in contemporary design practice—both as a tool for generating and refining ideas and as a material that shapes new modes of interaction. Students leave with a portfolio-ready project and the foundational skills needed to design compelling digital experiences.
| Week | Monday | Wednesday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|
| W01: What is Interaction Design? | Jan 19: MLK Day | Jan 21: Studio Intro | Jan 23: Warm-up Design |
| W02: Design Elements & Principles | Jan 26: Elements & Principles | Jan 28: Design Challenge | Jan 30: Welcome to Studio |
| W03: Typography, Icons & Intelligent Affordances | Feb 2: Typography & Icons | Feb 4: Design Challenge | Feb 6: Crit |
| W04: Color, Grids, Spacing & Alignment | Feb 9: Color, Grids, Spacing & Alignment | Feb 11: Design Challenge | Feb 13: Crit |
| W05: Flow Design & Intelligent Intervention | Feb 16: Flow Design & Intelligent Intervention · A1 posted | Feb 18: Studio: Building A1 | Feb 20: Crit |
| W06: Navigation, IA & Intelligent Collaboration | Feb 23: Navigation, IA & Intelligent Collaboration | Feb 25: Figma Workshop (TA-led) | Feb 27: Crit (TA-led) |
| W07: Intelligence as Design Material | Mar 2: Intelligence as Design Material | Mar 4: Redesign with Intelligence | Mar 6: Pod Crit · A1 due Mon Mar 9 |
| W08: Agency Spectrum | Mar 9: Designing along the Agency Spectrum | Mar 11: Agency Spectrum Studio | Mar 13: Agency Critique |
| W09: Proactivity & Timing | Mar 16: Proactivity & Timing | Mar 18: Proactivity & Timing Studio | Mar 20: Proactivity Critique |
| W10: Collaboration & GenAI | Mar 23: Collaboration Patterns · AI Tools Intro | Mar 25: GenAI Audit & Collaborative Flow | Mar 27: Role-Playing Crit |
| Spring Recess | Mar 30: No Class | Apr 1: No Class | Apr 3: No Class |
| W11: Context-Awareness & Adaptation | Apr 6: Context-Awareness & Adaptation · A2 introduced | Apr 8: A2 Kickoff | Apr 10: A2 Early Critique |
| W12: Design Systems for Intelligent Products | Apr 13: Design Systems + Microinteractions | Apr 15: Reflection only | Apr 17: Reflection only |
| W13: Ethics & Responsible AI Design | Apr 20: Ethics · A2 due · A3 introduced | Apr 22: Reflection only | Apr 24: Reflection only |
| W14: A3 Development & Course Synthesis | Apr 27: Course Synthesis | Apr 29: A3 Work & Peer Feedback | May 1: Final Presentations · A3 due Mon May 5 |