Digital Media

This course teaches current and emerging electronics and programmatic prototyping tools, so that students are able to fluently develop their ideas into interactive and responsive outcomes. Each semester, a different interaction design topic and technology prototyping platform—such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi, or Unity—is chosen to facilitate student design goals. An assortment of complementary product and interaction design skills is covered as well including soldering, CAD and, 3D printing for prototyping electronics enclosures, interacting with web services and data APIs, and conversations about intellectual property, ownership, and distribution concepts relevant to prototyping designs and creating interactive media, and emerging issues in integrating AI into designed experiences.

The course is highly experimental, with week-to-week exercises, readings and discussions to cultivate and refine technical skills, as well as time and support for students to work within an open final design brief. 

• Session 1: Introduction to Microcontrollers, Electricity & Coding in Python
• Session 2: Simple Circuits
• Session 3: Sensing Intention
• Session 4: Sensing Environments
• Session 5: Sensing Movement & Proximity
• Session 6: Sensing Sound & Image
• Session 7: Displays & Screens
• Session 8: Interacting with APIs & AIs
• Session 9: Soldering & CAD for Enclosures
• Session 10: Project Work Time
• Session 11: Project Work Time
• Session 12: Project Work Time