About This Course

This course teaches methods of creative problem solving and ideation, including sketching, drawing, diagramming, and the underlying approaches of abductive thinking and divergent thinking. Students learn how to quickly visualize ideas, iterating through variations, and allowing an idea to evolve quickly and effectively.


Core Concepts and Ideas

This class emphasizes the following main ideas, themes, and concepts:

  • Drawing and sketching as a public activity, in order to foster and facilitate collaborative discussion
  • Diagramming as a method of understanding and synthesizing complicated data, and as a collaborative decision making tool
  • Whiteboarding and group facilitation, for strategic group work and for fostering collaboration across disciplines
  • Rapid Ideation of interaction design solutions, using wireframes and other mid-level fidelity tools

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 quickly visualize ideas through various tools, including analog and digital sketching, rapid physical prototyping, whiteboarding and diagramming
  • Be able to model complicated systems and services through the use of diagrams, and use these diagrams to provoke facilitation and design discussion and rationalization
  • Understand how to communicate through sketching, both in a formal capacity as well as in a real-time, facilitation style
  • Be able to quickly iterate through interface design, using input from real users to inform decisions

Course Schedule

    In Class Out of Class

1

Tue, 10/30

Introduction to Rapid Ideation and Creative Problem Solving

Scenarios, Storyboards, Wireframes

Create initial scenarios and storyboards

Begin sketching UI

2

Thu, 11/1

Think Aloud User Testing

Process Flow Diagramming

Initial Wireframes

Begin presentation

3

Tue, 11/6

Form Design

Revise Wireframes

Test

Complete presentation

4

Thu, 11/8

Iteration 1 Due

Create UI revisions

 

Tue, 11/13

No class – Jon in DC

Test and revise

5

Thu, 11/15

Visual Design, Redlines

Create presentation

6

Tue, 11/20

Iteration 2 Due

Create UI revisions

7

Thu, 11/22

(No Class – Thanksgiving Break)

Test and revise

8

Tue, 11/27

Presenting UI work

Create presentation

9

Thu, 11/29

Iteration 3 Due

Create UI revisions

10

Fri, 11/30

Friday Makeup (6:00pm) – Work Session

Test and revise

11

Tue, 12/4

Concept Mapping

Create presentation

12

Thu, 12/6

Iteration 4 Due

Create UI revisions; test and revise

13

Tue, 12/11

Semantic Zoom, Temporal Zoom for Ecosystem Extensions

Create presentation

14

Thu, 12/13

Iteration 5 Due

Create UI revisions; test and revise

15

Tue, 12/18

Work Session

Create presentation

16

Thu, 12/20

Iteration 6 Due