Graduate Courses
Wearable Technologies for Health
Georgia Tech – Fall 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Credit: Daniel Budd, Nektar Ege, Jatin Arora
This course explores the intersection of assistive technology, wearables, and human-computer interaction (HCI) in the context of health and accessibility. Students develop skills to design and create innovative wearable solutions that enhance the abilities, independence, and quality of life for individuals with disabilities or chronic health conditions. The curriculum focuses on applying HCI design processes to create novel wearable technologies, emphasizing participatory design methods. Students gain hands-on experience in understanding user needs, problem identification, ideation, prototyping, and evaluation of wearable devices tailored to diverse user capabilities and health needs.
Introduction to ID Thesis Studies
Georgia Tech – Spring 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025
This course guides students through the process of designing and planning their master’s thesis. Topics addressed in the class include thesis requirements, IRB certification, crafting problem statements, utilizing library resources and tools, conducting background and literature reviews, defining hypotheses, establishing specific aims, selecting research methods, recruiting participants, collecting and managing data, planning projects and timelines, and developing a project proposal. Additionally, ID faculty present their research projects, allowing students to familiarize themselves with faculty areas of interest and select their thesis supervisor.
Fundamentals in Designing Interactive Computational Technology for People
University of British Columbia – Fall 2017, 2018
This course established common ground among students from a range of backgrounds, providing a shared vocabulary and methods for the human-centered design of interactive technologies (examples of methods included interviews, questionnaires, field studies, qualitative data analysis, requirements gathering, persona creation, sketching, conceptual design, prototyping, and discount usability testing). It served as the first core course of the Designing for People (DFP) program. Designing for People meant designing for the human experience, abilities, and fallibilities, which required an in-depth engagement with people throughout the design process to develop interactive technologies that fit human needs and capabilities. More specifically, the course adopted a human-centered design (HCD) approach and taught an iterative process called design thinking. This process drew heavily on fundamental human-computer interaction (HCI) methods.
Topics in Human-Computer Interaction
University of British Columbia – Spring 2018
In this course, interdisciplinary student teams collaborated closely with project partners selected from industry, organizations, and non-profits, including schools, museums, and neighborhood collectives. Each student team was assigned a problem by an external partner (e.g., Samsung, Tableau, Mozilla) to address. Students learned how to frame real design situations, develop design concepts, evaluate their designs, and communicate them to others for feedback. They integrated end-users and research activities into their design process, synthesizing appropriate techniques within the context of iterative and reflective practice. Student teams presented their projects to partners, industry affiliates, and the larger UBC DFP community at the DFP Design Showcase.
Undergraduate Courses
Senior Interaction Design Studio
Georgia Tech – Spring 2022, 2023
This course presented a range of interaction design methods focused on product conceptualization and user experience (UX), utilizing human-centered design (HCD) and universal design (UD) approaches to explore the future of health technologies. Students engaged with UX design methods, including user research, health user personas, co-design, cognitive walkthroughs, and usability testing, aimed at creating human-centered technologies for health. Upon successful completion, students were able to effectively apply various UX design methods and data collection techniques. Additionally, they gained practical experience with prototyping tools while exploring inclusive design approaches, such as UX accessibility, to ensure that diverse user needs were considered.
ID Minors Capstone (Collaborative Studio)
Georgia Tech – Summer 2019, 2020, 2021
The ID Capstone (collaborative studio) offered students a comprehensive introduction to the industrial design process, emphasizing its informative, iterative, and productive aspects: design research, ideation, prototyping, evaluation, validation, implementation, and presentation. Interdisciplinary teams provided solutions to real-world problems and developed consumer products using the “double-diamond” model of design. Examples of project topics included various physical and technological interventions designed to assist seniors living with mild cognitive impairments (MCI).
Interactive ID Studio
Georgia Tech – Spring 2019, 2020, 2021
In this course, students followed the human-centered design process and employed systematic design methods for projects focused on new applications of sensor-based technologies. The studio brought together architecture and industrial design students to explore the idea of “Interactive Museums” by designing various prototypes across different scales. Projects integrated the design, organization, or deployment of architectural space, furniture and equipment, and digital interfaces to flesh out new models of museum visits, foster interaction, and optimize the user experience for all those involved. In 2019 and 2020, ID-Arch students collaborated on projects including the Georgia Tech Atrium and interactive homes to explore the future of education and smart homes, respectively.
User-Centered Design Methods
Georgia Tech – Fall 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
This course examines the various methods designers use to fundamentally understand users and their interactions with products, experiences, and services. By integrating methods such as stakeholder identification and analysis, needfinding, ethnography, participatory design, scenarios, and bodystorming, students acquire a robust set of tools and methodologies for conducting user research that informs design decisions. The curriculum also incorporates concepts from behavioral and social sciences, including psychology and anthropology, to enrich the exploration of user interactions.
Foundation of Industrial Design
Georgia Tech – Fall 2019
This course introduced students to the fundamentals of industrial design in a studio setting. Students strengthened their design skills through CAD modeling, laser cutting, 3D printing, 3D scanning, prototyping, pattern making, branding and packaging, and video presentations. They created a portfolio of design work and showcased their semester-long projects through final exhibitions.
Other Courses
Interactive Smart Products, Georgia Tech’s School of Industrial Design and Jiangnan University, Summer 2019
IAT 333: Interaction Design Method, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University, Summer 2016-2017
IAT 110: Visual Communication Design, Fraser International College (FIC), Simon Fraser University, Fall 2016-2018
IAT 102: Graphic Design, Fraser International College, Simon Fraser University, Fall 2016-2018
IAT 208: Drawing as Inquiry, Teaching Assistant, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University, Spring 2017
IAT 202: New Media Images, Teaching Assistant, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University, Fall 2016
IAT 100: Digital Image Design, Teaching Assistant, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University, Spring 2016
IAT 102: Graphic Design, Teaching Assistant, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University, Summer 2012-2014
PUB 231: Graphic Design, Teaching assistant, Publishing Department, Simon Fraser University, Fall 2015
IAT 110: Visual communication, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University, Summer 2014-Fall 2015
TECH 114: Technology in Everyday Contexts, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University, Spring 2010
IAT 106: Spatial Thinking and Communicating, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University, Fall 2009