SYLLABUS - W25 2A
Plan to use XHours for team and TA meetings
Classroom: ECSC 115
Professor: Lorie Loeb
Email: [email protected]
Office: ECSC 015
Office hours: Tuesdays 8:30 am - 11:30 am. Please stop by Lorie’s office, or sign up ****via calendly, or if those times don’t work by arrangement.
Course Description Every digital interface/interaction (e.g. web and mobile application, car dashboard, smart appliance) was designed to solve a problem or to make our lives better, easier, more successful. Every time you use your phone, the buttons you push, the gestures to swipe up, down, left right, the font choices, the color scheme—all these were designed by a UI/UX designer. In other words, UI/UX is the communication layer between the computer software and the user. This hands-on, projects based course, explores the principles and practice of user interface and user experience design for digital platforms. Students in CS25 use the human centered design process to understand users and design digital tools that are intuitive to use and create a bit of delight along the way. We use tools in this class like Figma, Notion, and Slack to design in teams. Weekly assignments reinforce learning along the way and a final project pulls it all together.
CS25.01 offers hands-on, projects-based learning, that teaches the history, principles, tools, and practice of User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) Design. CS25.01 ****is for students with an interest in human centered design, product design, UI/UX design, interaction design, graphic design, or any other related field. No previous experience needed. This course teaches the principles and practice of UI/UX design through weekly exercises and homework (team and individual), student notebooks, class discussions, presentations, and projects. CS25.01 will be structured as other projects-based courses, with weekly assignments that build on each other and are intended to teach the foundational skills and thinking of UI/UX design.
• Understand the definition and principles of UI/UX Design in order to design with intention. • Achieve a deep understanding of the entire life-cycle of design: process, purpose, and tools. • Learn the basics of HCI (human-computer interaction) and the psychology behind user decision-making. • Discover the industry-standard tools and specific project deliverables in UI/UX. • Explain why you made design decisions, through presentations of assignments and notebooks.
How to Succeed in this Course Evaluation of student success will be based on assignments that include observation, brainstorming, sketching and prototyping, completing user research and testing, and continual iteration and creative thinking. There are a mix of short, skill-building exercises and longer homework assignments that are often completed in teams. A final project (in teams of two) puts into practice all you learned in class. In addition, students are expected to participate in discussions and reflections, and do a final presentation of their work.
Success in the class involves showing up, doing the work, and staying on top of the assignments. When working in teams, show up on time and prepared to work. Be the team member others want to work with. Treat each other with respect, listen to each other, and be willing to ask questions, offer guidance, and take creative risks.
In class, arrive prepared and open to learning.