About This Course

This course teaches the foundational qualities of interaction design and social entrepreneurship. In a studio context, students learn to think of, build, and show products, systems and services quickly using a variety of existing prototyping tools.


Core Concepts and Ideas

This course presents a toolkit of entrepreneurial skills related to presentation, publicity, making, launching, and understanding value. Students learn individual skills, and then apply them in the context of a single project.


Reading List

Outcomes and Competencies

The following outcome statements articulate the competencies, abilities, and skills a student will have as a result of completing this class. Students will...

  • Be able to describe and create value
  • Be able to talk, present, and think visually in a public setting
  • Understand the value of the internet as an amplification & discovery tool
  • Be able to select a prototyping tool and medium that is appropriate to the given situation and problem
  • Understand the importance of prototyping and the role of prototyping in communicating complicated design solutions and ideas
  • Be able to build both physical and digital prototypes to illustrate their ideas quickly and effectively

Course Schedule

Class Topic In Class Out Of Class Readings/Videos
9/1 Being Public
  • The Value of Social Media for an Entrepreneur
  • Establishing an Online Presence
  • Blogging and Tweeting
  • Creating a Basic Landing Page; Introduction to HTML5, css, Javascript
  • Your Personal Brand
  • Networking
  • Establish accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest; understand how these tools work.
  • Grow your LinkedIn network by 20 people in Austin, Texas.
  • Author a thoughtful blog post of between 250-500 words on the AC4D blog
  • Design, code, and launch your personal landing page
  • Create 5 objects (TBD) using the method discussed in class and post them online.
  
9/8 Presentation
  • Critique
  • Dynamics of a Presentation
  • Creating a Deck of Slides
  • Introduction to Visual Design (Intro to illustrator)
  • Grow your LinkedIn network by 20 people in Austin, Texas.
  • Author a thoughtful blog post of between 250-500 words on the AC4D blog
  • Have lunch or coffee with 2 people in Austin that you solicit, “out of the blue”, through email
  • Create a simple (5 minute) presentation that describes your personal brand – who you are, and why it matters. Present this next class.
  • Create 5 objects (TBD) using the method discussed in class and post them online.
  
9/15 Sketching and Drawing
  • Basic Marks and Gestures
  • What You See
  • What Someone Says
  • People and Figures
  • Sketching in Public
  • Mechanics: File Management, Tracing, Digital Manipulation (Intro to Photoshop)
  • Grow your LinkedIn network by 20 people in Austin, Texas.
  • Author a thoughtful blog post of between 250-500 words on the AC4D blog
  • Sketch 100 people, at increasing levels of detail. Draw 25 at an extremely loose, gestural level; 25 in context; 25 with noticeable detail; 25 as realistic as possible.
  • Sketch 20 digital interfaces, at increasing levels of detail. Sketch 5 as quick gestures/thumbnails, 10 as detailed sketches, and 5 as final UI illustrations.
  • Revise your simple (5 minute) presentation that describes your personal brand – who you are, and why it matters. Present this next class by sketching it, live, in front of the class.
  • Create 5 objects (TBD) using the method discussed in class and post them online.
 Bridgman’s Complete Guide to Drawing From Life
9/22 Iteration, Variation, and Planning
  • Iterations and Variations
  • Sketching as Designing as Problem Solving
  • Level of Detail
  • Time Management: Scheduling, Speed, Group-work, todo lists
  • Grow your LinkedIn network by 20 people in Austin, Texas.
  • Author a thoughtful blog post of between 250-500 words on the AC4D blog
  • Assume that your personal site (landing page) will sell something. Design (on paper) the checkout flow, so your customers can pay. Work through 30 progressive iterations, increasing the level of detail in your solution each time.
  • Create a simple (5 minute) presentation that describes your design, and process. Present this next class.
  • Create 5 objects (TBD) using the method discussed in class and post them online.
  
9/29 Value, Profit, and Revenue
  • Contextualizing Value – Wants, Needs, and Human Behavior
  • Value, From A Consumer’s Perspective
  • Value, From A Brand’s Perspective
  • Basic Product Planning
  • Holistic Branding
  • Grow your LinkedIn network by 20 people in Austin, Texas.
  • Author a thoughtful blog post of between 250-500 words on the AC4D blog
  • Project[To be assigned]
 Crossing the Chasm
10/6 No Class – Design Extravaganza
  • Grow your LinkedIn network by 20 people in Austin, Texas.
  • Author a thoughtful blog post of between 250-500 words on the AC4D blog
  • Work on Project
  
10/13 Markets, Products, and Services
  • Advertising and Purchasing Funnels
  • Defining a Market
  • Product/Service Teardown
  • Features vs. Goals
  • Grow your LinkedIn network by 20 people in Austin, Texas.
  • Author a thoughtful blog post of between 250-500 words on the AC4D blog
  • Work on Project
 Why The Inbound Marketing Funnel Is Essential (Video)
10/20 Final Presentations
  • Grow your LinkedIn network by 20 people in Austin, Texas.
  • Author a thoughtful blog post of between 250-500 words on the AC4D blog