Computer Science E6174 - Spring 2007
Interaction Design: A Perceptual Approach
Instructor: W. Bradford Paley
TA: Levi Lister
Class Members: assignments, projects, interests
Tuesdays: 6:10pm-8:00pm
Location: CS Conference Room, 4th floor, Mudd
Previous course websites: Spring 2005, Spring 2003
The Short Description
An advanced seminar on interaction design. Introduction to relevant topics
in psychophysics, cognitive psychology, psycholinguistics and related fields.
Application of key attention-directing techniques from fine arts, graphic
arts, and illustration. Guest lectures from leaders in these fields.
hands-on experience developing skills for participatory design, low-fidelity
prototyping, and implementation of custom widgets.
A pictorial description
What do these interfaces have in common?
Each one developed the interaction from the ground up, directly addressing user needs; going so
far as to invent new widgets and modes of interaction. But those new interaction techniques were
only new to computers--they were designed to be familiar to the users, tapping into the way
they think about their work. Finally, they were designed with an understanding of the mechanisms
of perception, which were engaged using techniques gleaned from artists.
Each was developed with the instructor in the role of lead designer.
We will be studying how to figure out what the user needs, how to develop new interaction
techniques when necessary, and how to design them for maximum utility.
