Professor Matt: Interaction Design

I don’t think I’ve posted about this much, but during last fall and this spring my main ‘side project’ attention was spent … teaching an actual college course at the University of Kansas!

The course was originally called ‘Designing for Social Interaction’ (the design department chose this, not me!), and then in the spring renamed Interaction Design. But the name should have really been: Everything I Want You To Learn Before You Apply For an Internship.

KU’s design program is heavily based in print media, and the undergrads were eager to tackle some web-based projects. We covered the steps in the process we go through at Brand New Box, and introduced a ton of concepts that were new to them, but really basic in the interaction design world.

For my own future reference, here’s the second version of the syllabus.

And all the cliches about teaching are totally true!

• I probably learned more from them than they learned from me
• It took way more time than I expected
• and I was surprised at how invested I was in their success. Every time a student submitted a project, or had some work to show, or even just asked me to look at something, I was excited. It was so thrilling to see them learn and improve.