Industrial Design, Interaction

About the course package

The exchange semester at Interaction Design Programme deals with the relation between people and Information Technology with particular focus on the interaction between product and user. We see the discipline of Interaction Design as the ability to design both the cognitive and physical interface and integrate them into a successful whole. Our aim is to enable designers to create sustainable, comprehensible and pleasurable information based products, services and environments.

5ID242 Skills and Techniques, IxD  7,5 credits
The course provides an introduction to Umeå Institute of Design and its educational resources. It also provides knowledge and practice of core artistic skills required in the field of interaction design.

Module 1: Introductory week (1.5 credits)
A series of lectures, activities and assignments give all new students basic information about culture, routines, resources and opportunities that exist at Umeå Institute of Design.

Module 2: Express your personal attitude (1.5 credits)
An exercise where the students interview each other and then individually reflect and create a graphic work that  expresses the student's personal and initial attitude to the subject of interaction design.

Module 3: Methods in Interaction Design (3 credits)
This module introduces basic concepts and principles that have been instrumental in the emergence of the subject of interaction design. Students are introduced to different and complementary perspectives, such as: (a) human-machine interaction, human-computer interaction, and user-centered design; (b) critical design and service design

Module 4: Basic Skills (1.5 credits)
This module introduces the techniques and safety measures that must be observed when utilising the workshops at Umeå Institute of Design.

5ID236 Graphic Designs and Expression 7,5 credits
The course provides practical training in applying graphic design and brand aesthetics for application in graphical user interfaces.

Module 1: Basic Design of Graphic User Interfaces (3 credits)
An individual project where students start from a given brand with distinctive graphic aesthetics, and apply it to an innovative digital product in a different format.

Module 2: Software Prototypes (1.5 credits)
This module provides an overview of current tools for software prototypes and provides the opportunity for training in these through practical exercises.

Module 3: Graphic brand manual for interactive media (3 credits)
Here, students are given the opportunity to explore graphic design, typography and other graphic elements to create a graphic brand profile program for digital media for a fictional organization, based on its core values that must be clearly reflected in the final brand expression.

5ID237 Project 1: Specialized Product 15 credits
The course provides practical experience of designing a complex product or system, with a focus on specialized use. It is usually carried out in collaboration with a company, an organization or other relevant partner.

Module 1: Foundations (3 credits)
During the first module, students will explore different perspectives that explain how specialized work and activities are organized and transformed through design, as well as different methods of research and design for a particular practice. It will focus on reading, presenting and discussing literature, and short activities.

Module 2: Project (9 credits)
The user-centered design project has three overlapping phases: in a non-linear design process that allows for synergy between research, design, and prototype development.

Module 3: Sensemaking (3 credits)
This module is about understanding the project in relation to interaction design for contemporary professional practices and includes training in academic writing.

Send your Portfolio and letter of motivation to the International contact person at Umeå Institute of Design via e-mail.
E-mail address: uid.exchange@umu.se