ART 271 - interaction design I

In the spring of 2017, I developed an entirely new curriculum for this course from the ground up, focused on the mobile app environment broken into three segments: 25% Project 01 - Deconstruction (research project), 25% Project 02 - Reconstruction (redesign project), and 50% Project 03 - Construction (all-new design project).

Project 01 - Deconstruction

Students first research an existing mobile app for the first quarter of the term, capture every screen on their device, and then document user flows for all aspects of interactive functionality.

Project 02 - Reconstruction

Students then select an existing app to redesign for the second quarter of the term. Visual design, UI design, and UX design are considered equally. Both deficits in aesthetics and functionality are addressed, and students follow either Android or iOS material design guidelines depending on which kind of device they use.

Project 03 - Construction

The remaining half of the semester, students are tasked with designing their own mobile app from scratch using Adobe InDesign or Adobe XD. Again, they follow either Android or iOS material design guidelines depending on which kind of device they use. The development phase for this final project includes a user testing session of all flows to ensure usability. Students have the option of delivering this final app project as design flats or as a live prototype on their chosen mobile device either using InVision or exporting directly from Adobe XD.

User Testing Reports

A key aspect of the third and final project is user testing. Students gather at least five participants and test their app product design with a live prototype and documented user flows. They then incorporate this feedback into their final designs, and provide a report of the results of the session. The participants they choose to test are based on the fictional user personas they developed at the start of the project.