Re: [IxDA Discuss] Ivrea Legacy ... Its like impressive
What a giant question, David. (And thanks for the blanket compliments.) I was part of the founding class, and I'd say the things that made it the thing what it was for me are: 1. A spirit of entrepreneurship. They were still making it up when we walked in the door. The constraints and pressures of the new school meant we had to decide what we wanted and make it happen despite the chaos, and much of the faculty recognized and supported it. I made a poster with the IDII building flying in the sky with the X-Files-esque caption "I Want to Believe" and a number of other students and faculty said they felt the same. 2. Deep pockets. Telecom Italia was the original sponsor for the program, and rumors ran that they were hoping to turn it into an IP farm. They were eager to have interaction design expertise flourish in Italy generally, and were prepared to front lots of money for it. 3. The inclusion of business in the curriculum: RCA and ITP both were (and still are) working fantastic programs that focused on art. IDII included real-world business as an equal partner in the curriculum. This was attractive to employers who felt students had exposure to business strategy and thinking, and obviously encouraged graduates to act on their own business ideas. 4. Well-connected faculty: Gillian picked the multicultural faculty carefully for subject expertise, pedagogical eloquence, and/or industry experience. Through them we had a stream of fantastic lecturers and adjunct professors, even though we were in a small Italian town a couple of hours from the nearest metro. 5. Culture clash: There was a clash between the different cultures participating. I recall some deep discussions between the students on the merits of the USofA-esque, aggressive style of being a student, and the more passive expectations of the European-esque-educated students. We learned a lot from each other, and I at least was constantly inspired by the intersections. Additionally, and this is a little nuanced, but I think the fact that we had to up-level our English helped a lot as well. Native speakers couldn't rely on idiom and slang, and we had to think about what we were saying and get very used to explaining and re-explaining ourselves. This forced us to examine and iterate our ideas quite a bit. 6. Isolation: This worked against us part of the time because it was hard to find materials and services to support our work. (Not to mention the constant need for interpreters for those of us whose Italian was middling at best.) But it also kept us free from distractions and focused on creating and nurturing the internal culture. We even lived in the same strange underground apartment block, reinforcing this interdependence and sense of like-it-or-not family. 7. Connected locals: I'm not sure this would need to be replicated in another school, but in Italy it was vital to have staff who were "in" with the locals. This is MHO. I'd love to hear from other IDII veterans. What did I miss? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=34678 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] What to teach interaction design students
@Jason: Hear, hear. The Design of Everyday Things is the first part of the reader. Additionally, my students don't necessarily come to the class with programming or development skills, so I've tried to make sure that most of the discussion can be about analog examples. For example, one day of the interface week we're going horseback riding together, and the students are tasked to evaluate the saddles and tack as interfaces to the horse, documenting what they find with the principles we've been discussing. @Jarod: We'll be dealing with evaluation throughout the course, and I should have been more specific in that "Does it work?" concerns evaluation and judgment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=34437 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Future Interaction: The application of IxD to science fiction.
Thanks Jeff. We're also presenting a sexy subset of this material at the 2009 SxSW. We're aiming for the book to be done by then, Will. I think my favorite scifi device was the video phone from Metropolis, but for what it reveals rather than that I think it is good interaction design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=34500 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] What to teach interaction design students
Hey Andy. I%u2019m in both a perfect and lousy place to answer. Perfect because I%u2019ve been thinking a lot about it since I begin teaching a course in Interaction Design at the California College of the Arts here in San Francisco next week. I%u2019m in a lousy position because I actually haven%u2019t taught it yet and have no practical idea if my ideas will work. But I%u2019ll float the core thread out there and see if it helps. I recall one of the best learning experiences of my undergraduate experience was from a drama professor in an acting class, who approached us to discuss every scene we did%u2014whether it was Shakespeare or Durang%u2014with the same question: What%u2019s the backbone of this scene? What are you fighting for? (I think he modified it from Shurtleff, but that%u2019s neither here nor there.) The point is, he gave me a technique that I was able to apply to every theatrical experience thereafter. Now I left the theatre behind some time ago, but his technique is kind of thing I want to give the students: a memorable framework with which they can approach most any interaction design problem, and from which they can branch out and investigate the giant bodies of knowledge that touch on it, including current tools, and best practice principles. So, short answer, I think that technique is the most fundamental and lasting thing to teach, and from which you can introduce tools and principles. For more detail, here are the topics we%u2019re hitting and the order: 1. What is interaction design? (As a practice, historically, & as a profession.) How do you approach interaction design challenges? 2. WHO ARE THE USERS? How do you research and model users? How do you use these models in design? 3. HOW DO THEY USE IT? How do research and model prospective technology? How do you specify and demonstrate its use? 4. How do we connect users to the technology they are using? (Practical interface design considerations.) 5. DOES IT WORK? How do we evaluate our (and others%u2019) work? I%u2019m also augmenting my class with discussions and exercises around systems thinking and professional processes. But it%u2019s those three capitalized questions, which I developed while I was at marchFIRST, that will form the structure that we%u2019ll return to, and form the basis of a consistent approach. So this is the structure I%u2019m proceeding with and my two cents. I%u2019ll see how it works over the next several weeks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=34437 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] The biggest problems
Aside from hate on User Centered Design, and perhaps more seriously, the looming global economy crisis, I'm interesting in hearing what IxDAers think are the largest problems facing the IxD practice today. Anyone have any thoughts? Chris _ Stay up to date on your PC, the Web, and your mobile phone with Windows Live. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093185mrt/direct/01/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
